NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1977 SESSION

CHAPTER 791

HOUSE BILL 995

AN ACT TO SET THE SPEED LIMIT FOR BUSES TRANSPORTING CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 20-218, as it appears in 1975 Replacement Volume 1C of the General Statutes, is amended by designating the first paragraph as subsection (a) and repealing the remainder of the section.

Sec. 2.  G.S. 20-218 is further amended by adding new subsections (b) and (c) to read as follows:

"(b)      It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or drive a school bus loaded with children over the public roads of North Carolina at a greater rate of speed than 35 miles per hour, with the following exceptions:

(1)        For school activity buses which are painted a different color from regular school buses and which are being used for transportation of students or others to or from places for participation in events other than regular classroom work, it shall be unlawful to operate such a school activity bus at a greater rate of speed than 45 miles per hour.

(2)        For school buses or special buses with a capacity of 16 pupils or less that are used to transport students who are children with special needs, it shall be unlawful to operate the buses at a greater rate of speed than 45 miles per hour.

(c)        Any person violating this section shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than fifty dollars ($50.00) or imprisoned for not more than 30 days."

Sec. 3.  This act shall become effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 29th day of June, 1977.