A mandatory license suspension based on the word of an “other witness” invites the weaponization of the court by unscrupulous people who may have a grudge against their neighbor or coparent. The high resolution camera on the stop bar (HB 1537) is a good idea. 7 days of suspension for a first offense that could be a mistake (if no child is actually in danger and nobody has been hurt) seems to be a bit much. We don’t have public transportation in most of NH and missing a whole week of work could be life ruining. That seems harsh for a first offense mistake with no actual harm done, especially in a state that allows everyone to operate unsafe vehicles if the police can’t easily spot the safety issues.
HB1308
House · 2026 sessionRepublicanSigned into lawStopped school bus passing penalty
AIIncreases penalties for unlawfully passing a stopped school bus, authorizes bus camera footage as identification evidence, and mandates license suspension for first and repeat offenses.
relative to increasing the penalty for passing a stopped school bus.
Status
Signed into law · June 24, 2026- ✓Introduced
- ✓House
- ✓Senate
- ✓Governor
- ✓Law
Division of testimony
34 submissionsI am all about centering the safety of our children to and from school in our state.
Drivers need to be held accountable for their actions and I feel it is in the best interest of safety that we amend this bill to a misdemeanor because a stop sign violation is too soft for all the risks drivers take nowadays for not wanting to be inconvenienced and it could save a life. .
Too many people run or contemplate running a buses red lights because it’s just a ticket. Make the consequences real, make them stop.
Why not make these felonies? The senate is in love with manufacturing as many new felons as they can for what was previously misdemeanors. You have to keep up.
I have a friend who is a school bus driver in my town and she has seen this happen to her bus many, many times. Drivers should be held accountable for creating unnecessary risk.
As a School bus driver in Goffstown, I have had many people run my reds. It is extremely dangerous and the consequences need to be more severe.
This bill is essential to protect students, families, and the general public. There must be adequate time to walk safely to a school bus without worrying about a car speeding by. I witness families coming close to being hit in front of my daughter's school. I have had a friend suffer a concussion when hit by a car next to her daughter's bus. This bill must be enacted to protect the citizens of New Hampshire.
Stopping for school busses has become too lax. Many children have been seriously injured or killed due to the negligence of drivers not paying attention or purposefully not stopping for busses. Crossing guards, children, parents and all others helping kids get on the bus are all on the list of people who could be injured. Harsher consequences need to be put in place so drivers will really start paying attention. Let’s do this for the safety of everyone, especially our kids!
As a NH resident with a child in public school that utilizes the bus, safety is of the utmost importance to me. I have personally witnessed multiple cars ignore the stop signs displayed on the sides of the busses and speed by, endangering the lives of the children trying to get home safely. Perhaps if the punishment for ignoring the signage was steeper this would deter motorists from committing these infractions.
I've been a school bus driver in a small town for a little over a year, I drive town roads that are off main roads and are in the quiet part of town that has very little traffic. I never thought I'd ever experience being passed by a vehicle while my stop sign was out let alone while children were actively getting on or off the bus. In total this school year I have been passed three times, and in those three times I've been lucky to get three numbers off the license plate well also making sure that all my children were safe as they were getting off the bus. A few weeks ago a car behind me decide they couldn't wait and went around the bus anyways while my stop sign was out and one child had already made it down the stairs. Luckily it was a stop where the child did not cross street as the car flew by my stop sign. The car went so fast even the parent standing next to the bus couldn't get a license plate the only thing we could get was the make and model of the vehicle. I have become quite surprised with how little respect and care some people have when it comes to the safety of the children who ride the bus.
I am a school bus driver for First Student Inc. Located in Nashua NH. Our police force doesnt enforce the law pertaining to this matter regardless of filing reports and plate numbers. The dangers are a daily safety issues at all bus stops and school zones. Principals at school do not enforce the laws either and they allow for parents to drive past school buses while loading and unloading students. We need cameras on the outside of the bus this should become a legal mandatory regulation for every school bus location in the state of NH for all safety purposes. Running stop sign and stop lights. Also including for proof and evidence of any bus related accidents inorder to get 100% proper view of all sides of the bus not just inside but outside of the bus as well. Please get cameras that can also tell you the speed of the cars passing causing the bus related accidents and running bus stops signs and lights. Enforce the police to enforce the laws!
Running a school bus stop sign and putting childrens lives in danger should carry a much higher fine and punishment than what we currently have in place.
I fully support this Bill. I have two young sons and my oldest is in Kindergarten. He loves riding the bus to and from school but I always worry about people passing the bus when it stops to drop off and pick up students.
I love testimony forms and am testing things out
I agree school bus safety is a concern
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