Bill Text: NJ A1558 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires school buses be equipped with certain technology to avoid crashes.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-14 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee [A1558 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A1558-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ROBERT D. CLIFTON
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
Assemblywoman BETTYLOU DECROCE
District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Requires school buses be equipped with certain technology to avoid crashes.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning school bus safety and supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Each school bus, as defined in R.S.39:1-1, purchased by an agency, school district, nonpublic school, or school bus contractor on or after July 1, 2020 shall be equipped with a collision avoidance system, which shall include, but not be limited to, technology for automatic emergency braking, forward collision warnings, blind spot warnings, rear cross-traffic warnings, lane departure warnings, back-up cameras or sensors, electronic stability control, and any other technology that the Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, deems necessary for the provision of safe and efficient school transportation.
b. If the technology required by subsection a. of this section is not readily available for utilization on school buses by July 1, 2020, the commissioner may delay the requirements of subsection a. of this section and shall establish a schedule for agencies, school districts, nonpublic schools, and school bus contractors to comply with the provisions of subsection a. of this section.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires each school bus purchased by an agency, school district, nonpublic school, or school bus contractor on or after July 1, 2020 to be equipped with a collision avoidance system. The collision avoidance system is required to include technology for automatic emergency braking, forward collision warnings, blind spot warnings, rear cross-traffic warnings, lane departure warnings, back-up cameras or sensors, electronic stability control, and any other technology that the Commissioner of Education (commissioner), in consultation with the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, deems necessary for the provision of safe and efficient school transportation.
If the technology required by the bill is not readily available for utilization on school buses, the commissioner may delay the requirements. If the commissioner delays the requirements of the bill, the commission is required to establish a schedule for compliance with the provisions of the bill.
