Without a doubt we are extremely grateful that the House Committee today voted “yes” to send Senate Bill #2 (Maxstrong Bill) to the full house for the final vote before becoming a bill.
I am troubled that we have some people that could not find a way to bring themselves to a “yes” vote (four no votes), which means we have to remain vigilant and remain active in getting the word out that we need this important piece of legislation to pass the full house when they vote, perhaps as soon as next week.
We are asking everyone across Indiana to contact your legislators, call them, email them, let your voices be heard. Help us to get this bill passed so that we can improve school bus safety for all children in Indiana.
I thank Senator Head for his hard work and continued support of this bill and our family and commit to doing everything we can to help get this bill over the final hurdle so that it will pass the house and get to the governor for signature.
My understanding is that a few of the members of the committee struggled with fines helping to support funding of the cameras being put on school buses. So we will work to help them, and perhaps others, see the wisdom of this program and help them to better understand the extreme importance of this bill so that we do not have any other family live the horror of losing children as a result of a driver blowing past a school bus stop arm.
With more than 3,000 violations where vehicles actually blow through the stop sign of a school bus in Indiana this past year alone, (Estimated at more than a half million near misses in a year), we need to understand the importance of getting this bill passed and that the cameras are a very important part of holding drivers accountable to prevent anyone from losing their child or children.
I would ask each legislator to think about their children, grandchildren, niece, nephew and loved ones. What would you do to protect your children and loved ones? We can't continue to gamble with our children's safety as it relates to school bus travel, because simply put you are wagering their lives. Pass this bill so no other family has to live the nightmare we live each day.
Having a portion of the fines go to funding the purchase, install and management of these top arm cameras makes sense, better for those that violate the law pay for their reckless behavior rather than taxpayers funding the cameras or our children paying with their lives. We must stop this insanity and hold drivers accountable.
These cameras provide evidence to help greatly improve enforcement of the law and making the roads safer for all children. Get the cameras on the buses and lets hope that soon we won't have any fines because people will simply learn that there is no ambiguity in the law. Red means stop!
For those that struggle with third-party vendors taking a portion of the proceeds, remember this important fact. They are laying out a lot of money to purchase and install these cameras on school buses to help make school bus travel safer for all children so that schools and the state doesn't have to provide the funding. Allowing them a profit is not a bad thing if we get cameras on all school buses that want and need them. If you are worried about the amount of profit, then let’s make it so the revenue split can not be greater for the vendor than 50/50 revenue split.
My grandsons Mason and Xzavier would be 7 years old if not for this horrific tragedy. To all the legislators I ask them to please understand this is a horrible time for our family Please don't add to the grief by letting this bill fail. Vote “yes” for Senate Bill #2 (Maxstrong Bill).
It would not only be a great gift to our family and my grandchildren to pass this bill, but also a gift for all children in Indiana.
