School bus driver Carol Hall demonstrates Cabell County School’s new extended stop arm on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2015, at Cabell County Schools Transportation Complex in Lesage.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Police across West Virginia will now have an easier time pursuing and charging drivers who endanger the lives of students by passing activated school bus stop signs.
New legislation, which went into effect June 10, allows law enforcement officers to charge the owner of a vehicle with running school bus stop signs, regardless of who is driving the vehicle when the violation occurs.
Previous state code allowed for school buses to have cameras for the purpose of catching vehicles driving past signs, but it did not provide a way for law enforcement to pursue charges against drivers who didn’t comply with the stop signs unless officers witnessed a vehicle running the sign and immediately initiated a traffic stop.
With school getting into full swing Thursday in Cabell County, Huntington Police Chief Joe Ciccarelli said the law will make officers’ jobs easier…
