Year after year, questions are brought up in reference to school bus loading and unloading zones, along with the question about pedestrian crosswalks. For 2006, the questions are focused are focused on the Graduated Driver License and the Car Safety Seat Laws. The following are exerts from the City of Florissant Traffic Enforcement Code. We hope this answers any questions you may have. Please share them with your driving age children.

What is the Law in reference to School Bus ‘Stop Sign Arms’?

Sec. 340-280 . School Buses – Duty of Driver to stop upon meeting or overtaking bus stopped to receive or discharge children.

The driver of a vehicle upon any street or highway within the city, upon meeting or overtaking from either direction, any school bus which has stopped on such street or highway for the purpose of receiving or discharging any school children and whose driver has in a manner prescribed by law given the signal to stop, shall stop such vehicle before reaching such school bus and shall not proceed until such school bus resumes motion, or until signaled by its driver to proceed.

If any vehicle is witnessed by a peace officer or the driver of a school bus to have violated the provisions of this section and the identity of the operator is not otherwise apparent, it shall be the person whose name such vehicle is registered committed the violation.

When is a driver not required to stop for a stopped school bus?

The driver of a vehicle upon a highway with separate roadways need not stop (a) upon meeting or overtaking a school bus which is on a different roadway, (b) which is proceeding in the opposite direction on a highway containing four (4) or more lanes of traffic, or (c) which is stopped in a loading zone constituting a part of, or adjacent to, a limited or controlled access highway at a point where pedestrians are not permitted to cross the roadway.

What’s the law pertaining to Pedestrian Crosswalks?

Sec. 345-020 . Pedestrian Crosswalks.

At those street intersections having a crosswalk lawfully designated as a “pedestrian crosswalk”, every driver of a vehicle facing such “pedestrian crosswalk” sign shall bring his vehicle to a complete stop and yield right of way to all persons crossing there and shall not proceed until it is safe to do so.

Graduated Driver’s License/Passenger Restriction Law

Intermediate Driver’s License holders who obtained their Intermediate License prior to August 28, 2006 AND are still in their first six months of the Intermediate Licenseare restricted to one passenger under the age of 19 who is not an immediate family member. Also, Intermediate Driver’s License holders who obtained their Intermediate License prior to August 28, 2006 and have surpassed their first six months are restricted to three passengers under the age of 19 who is not an immediate family member.

The intent of this law is to keep young drivers safe by reducing the number of distractions within the vehicle. Driver inattention is currently the number one contributing circumstance to traffic crashes in Missouri.

Child Safety Seats and Booster Seats
Click here for more information on child safety seats

Missouri has joined 37 other states with laws covering children who have out grown a car seat, but are too small for a vehicles seat belt system. According to the National Highway Safety Administration, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death and serious injury to children ages 4–8 in the United States.

On August 29, 2006 the new law went into effect requiring children who have outgrown their car seat to ride in a booster seat until the child is 8 years old, weighs 80 pounds or is at least 4 feet 9 inches tall. The previous law allowed children older than 4 years old to ride in cars using seat belts alone. But in a crash, seat belts designed for bigger bodies can put tremendous pressure on a child’s tender stomach and dig into a child’s neck.

The idea of the booster seat is to raise the child up, allowing the lap portion of the seat belt to rest across the child’s hip bones and directs the shoulder strap across the center of the child’s should, rather than the neck.

Again, Missouri Law requires children riding in a motor vehicle to be transported in a booster seat if they:

• Are at least 4 years old, but younger than 8 years old.
• Are less than 4 feet 9 inches tall.
• Weigh more than 40 pounds, but less than 80 pounds, regardless of age.

The Facts:

• Highway deaths are the number one killer of children in our nation. Between 1990 and 1999, over 90,000 children under the age of 20 died in motor vehicle crashes.
• Over 16,500 of those children were under age 10 – meaning that 33 children under the age of 10 died every week in motor vehicle crashes.
• During that same time, over 57,500 teens between 16 and 20 died in traffic crashes – that’s about 110 each week. And over eight million children were injured.

For more information about the Child Safety Information above, visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration web page, located at www.nhtsa.dot.gov or call 1-888-327-4236.