School safety is one of my top priorities in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Legislators heard my concerns that a bipartisan bill is needed to protect all children riding in school buses, mini-vans or vans.

We all know how dangerous it is for children getting on and off school buses. Recently, we have seen numerous accidents across Pennsylvania that involved motorists driving too fast and hitting children while they are getting on or off school transportation vehicles.

This week, I voted for legislation, which unanimously passed the House, that would allow school transportation vehicles that are smaller than school buses to use revolving and flashing yellow lights. The yellow flashing lights or rotating lights would be on the roofs of the vehicles.

The penalty for passing these vehicles would be a $300 civil penalty. Of this amount, $250 would be given to the school district where the violation occurred, $25 to the police department that reviewed the evidence to determine that a violation occurred, and $25 to the school for use to fund the safety grant program.

The bill now awaits Gov. Tom Wolf’s signature.

Under current law, school vehicles are not considered authorized vehicles for the purpose of visual signals such as revolving and flashing yellow lights. I believe it is vital for school vehicles to be able to utilize these important signals.

Vans and minivans are overlooked; adding safety equipment would make them more noticeable to oncoming traffic, especially during bad weather.

There are many rural roads without streetlights in Lackawanna County and it’s easy for motorists not to see small school transportation vehicles, even with a placard on the side of the vehicle, which these vehicles are required to have.

School buses are generally considered the safest way for children to get to and from school, but accidents do happen, and they can be very devastating for children and their families.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, there are more than 1.5 million students transported daily across the state. Students are transported a total of about 400 million miles to school each year.

We already have a law that makes it illegal to pass a school bus when its red lights are flashing and stop arm is extended. If convicted of breaking this law, motorists are subject to a $250 fine, five points on their driving record and a 60-day suspension of their license.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Safety Administration, over a 10-year period from 2007-2016, 1,147 crashes were school transportation-related. One thousand, two hundred eighty-two people were killed in those accidents.

In that same period, 98 school-age pedestrians died because of school transportation-related crashes.

Finally, please make sure drivers can see children at your bus stop. Teach children to stand at least three giant steps back from the curb as the bus approaches and to board the bus one at a time. Teach children to wait for the school bus to come to a complete stop before getting off and not to walk behind the bus.

It takes the efforts of all of us to keep our kids safe.

Remember, if you have a state-related concern, my office is always available to you. You can email me at RepFlynn@pahouse.com or call my office at 570-342-4348.

State Representative Marty Flynn serves the 113th Legislative District which consists of the city of Scranton, South Abington and the borough of Clarks Green.