NJ Lawmaker Wants To Get Tough With Lying School Bus Drivers [AUDIO]
A New Jersey lawmaker wants to crack down on Garden State school bus drivers who have had their licenses suspended, but don't tell anybody.
State Senator Shirley Turner is sponsoring legislation that establishes the crime of operating a school bus with a suspended driver's license.
She says under the bill, a person is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree if that person operates a school bus knowing that his or her license is suspended and operates a school bus transporting one or more students.
"Which means they could be imprisoned for a period up to 18 months and a fine of up to 10 thousand dollars…And then, it also establishes a crime of the 3rd degree if the bus operator is involved in an accident and there's some bodily injury. Then they could face 3 to 5 years behind bars, and a fine of 15 thousand dollars."
Turner decided to sponsor the measure because "not too long ago, there was an accident in Manalapan, where a school bus driver was found to have been on the suspension list and she had 37 children on her bus at the time- but fortunately none of the children were injured, so we want to make sure that people never have children injured because we have school bus drivers while on a suspension list…The measure would ensure peace of mind for parents - they should not have to worry about whether or not a school bus operator has a valid drivers license."
She adds the legislation also specifies, that if they knowingly operate a school bus without a valid license, "they will never be able to drive a school bus again - they will lose that privilege permanently…We've got to do everything that we can to protect our children."