How will these new 2019 School Bus Safety Laws help Indiana school bus accident victims?
Two new school bus safety bills are moving through the legislative process in the Indiana General Assembly right now, destined to become effective law in July 2019. For details on each of these bills, Senate Bill 2 and House Bill 1340, see our discussion in “School Bus Crashes in Indiana: Proposed New 2019 Laws to Make School Buses Safer for Children.”
School Bus Safety is an important issue to be faced in 2019, given the known dangers that face Indiana schoolchildren today, especially in rural areas where Hoosier families depend upon school buses to transport their kids to and from school each day. It is likely that these new bills will become law.
What happens once this new legislation becomes effective law for the State of Indiana? How will the new School Bus Safety legislation impact personal injury accident claims and wrongful death laws designed to help victims of school bus crashes in Indiana?
Criminal Prosecutions and Civil Accident Claims
First, consider the two separate bodies of law working here in Indiana: (1) criminal law, where police and prosecutors work to enforce the criminal laws of this state; and (2) civil law, where private citizens file claims for justice based upon a variety of causes of action, including negligence; product liability; wrongful death; etc.
1. Existing Criminal Laws Have Not Changed
Once passed, these new school bus safety laws will not change or usurp existing criminal laws regarding Indiana School Bus accidents. If there is a serious accident or fatality, the driver of the motor vehicle involved in the collision may still be arrested and charged for serious felony offenses.
For example, the driver of the pick-up truck in the fatal crash involving 6-year-old twin brothers Xzavier and Mason Ingle and their 9-year-old sister Alivia faced charges of reckless homicide in the aftermath of that fatal school bus accident in Fulton County.
The possibility of an Indiana driver being arrested and charged for homicide will remain after the effective date of these new 2019 Indiana School Bus Safety laws.
2. School Bus Drivers Will Face Criminal Charges Under 2019 Law
Under the new legislation, school bus drivers are held to a specific standard of behavior while operating a school bus. They are instructed to do specific things, like picking children up and dropping them off “as close as is practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of any other type of roadway” (House Bill 1340). Failure to do so will be considered a criminal act.
3. 2019 Crimes When Drivers Fail to Respect Extended School Bus Stop Arm
Once these bills become law, drivers who fail to stop and wait for a school bus where the bus driver has extended the school bus arm face criminal charges defined as a Class C Misdemeanor. However, the drivers that recklessly pass that extended school bus arm face even more serious criminal charges: it will be a Class A Misdemeanor; and, if there is an injury as a result, the driver will face Level 6 Felony charges (Senate Bill 2).
Criminal Charges and Civil Claims for School Bus Accident Injuries
These new criminal laws will allow law enforcement to do more in the effort to keep schoolchildren safe on our roadways. However, these new criminal laws do not work to help accident victims and their families dealing with the consequences of a school bus crash.
For individual justice after an Indiana School Bus Accident, the state’s personal injury and wrongful death laws work to help these grieving families deal with things like medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other realities of a serious injury or accident.
The criminal proceedings can be helpful in the preparation of an injury case as well as its pursuit in a formal claim or lawsuit. From police reports to expert opinions provided to prosecutors, the independent criminal matters are available to the accident victim and their families for use in their personal injury matter.
The proposed 2019 School Bus Safety Laws may be able to help future school bus crash victims in their civil cases in the following ways:
- By defining specific duties for the school bus driver, the new laws help to establish what the bus driver should and should not be doing while on the job. After a serious school bus crash, both the bus driver as well as his or her employer (i.e., the school district) may be legally liable for the victim’s injuries under Indiana accident laws.
The new 2019 laws may be referenced in the injury case to explain the school bus driver’s failure to act and how this contributed to the school bus crash.
- Drivers on Indiana roadways must respect any school bus they encounter while driving. After all, these drivers are the cause of most serious and fatal school bus crashes. These drivers may be driving distracted, or driving while intoxicated, or speeding.
Under Indiana personal injury and wrongful death laws, these drivers will be held accountable for their actions when they cause a school bus accident where someone gets hurt.
The new 2019 laws expand the criminal charges that drivers can face while sharing the roads with an Indiana school bus. Of particular importance is the new law that will create a Level 6 Felony charge for any driver who recklessly passes an extended school bus safety arm.
This new felony charge will help define the duties placed upon any driver who is involved in a serious school bus safety crash. The accompanying police report and criminal investigation into his or her actions can be obtained by the accident victim’s family for use in a civil case against that driver.
If the driver can be shown to be driving while on the job, then the new felony charge may help extend legal liability to the driver’s employer, too.
For more on how employers can be held liable in motor vehicle accidents, read: Employer Liability for Distracted Driving Accidents in Indiana or Illinois.
New Indiana School Bus Safety Laws and Personal Injury Claims
Once finalized by the Indiana General Assembly and signed into law, these new Indiana School Bus Safety Laws will hopefully save lives and reduce school bus accidents in our state.
It is important for anyone who is hurt or injured in an Indiana School Bus Crash to know that the state’s personal injury and wrongful death laws work independently of the criminal courts to bring justice to school bus accident victims and their families.
Having these new duties imposed by the 2019 School Bus Safety Laws may also help those who must seek justice in the aftermath of a serious or fatal school bus accident through a personal injury claim or wrongful death lawsuit.
Children should be safe and secure while waiting for their school bus, as well as boarding the bus or being dropped off at the end of a school day. Please be careful out there!
