The North Royalton City Council is discussing a stricter penalty for those who fail to stop for a school bus in the process of dropping children. At the March 15 Council Safety Committee Meeting, North Royalton Police Chief Keith Tarase reported that Police have issued 15 school bus citations so far this year. Last year, even though school was not open for a portion of the school year, it was reported that 22 citations were issued, according to North Royalton Law Director Tom Kelly.
In April, 2020, the North Royalton City Council unanimously adopted legislation that amended the City’s codified ordinance that increases the fine for those who fail to stop for a school bus that is in the process of dropping off children. The fine has been doubled, from $500 to $1,000.
An ordinance was introduced at the April 5 City Council meeting that would amend the City’s codified ordinances regarding the rules for stopping for school bus, actuating visual signals and discharging children by raising the violation to a Misdemeanor of the First Degree. According to the ordinance, “Council finds that it bears no higher obligation than the obligation to protect the lives and well-being of the children in North Royalton; and Council finds that the increasing number of violations of Ordinance 432.30 prohibiting the improper, illegal and gravely dangerous act of passing a school bus while in the process of collecting or discharging children calls for a significant response in the application of the potential penalties for such violations.”
If adopted, the amendment would remove the verbiage of the current ordinance, which states that those who violate “may be fined an amount not to exceed $1,000” and replace it with “is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree as defined in the Ohio Revised Code and shall be sentenced according to the provisions of NRCO Section 698.02 and subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 and a term of incarceration of not more than 180 days.
According to the Laws of the state of Ohio:
• Drivers approaching a school bus stopped for the purpose of receiving or discharging any school children in any direction must stop at least ten feet from the front or rear of the school bus. They cannot proceed until the school bus resumes motion or the school bus driver motions for the driver to proceed.
• When a highway has four or more lanes, a driver approaching from the opposite direction of the school bus does not need to stop. However, those driving in the same direction as the school bus must stop.
“Unfortunately, we have seen a rise in people who are not complying with the school bus laws,” stated North Royalton Schools Superintendent, Mike Laub. “We have had a couple of close calls with accidents as a result. I am grateful to our city for their support with this change to make it clear that the safety of students always needs to come first.”
The measure was introduced at the April 5 City Council meeting, placed on second reading, and referred to the Council Safety Committee for further discussion.

By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer