31-5-507. Meeting or passing stopped school bus; markings and visual signals.

(a) The driver of a vehicle upon meeting or overtaking from either direction any stopped school bus shall stop before reaching the school bus when there is in operation on the school bus the flashing red lights as specified in W.S. 31-5-929 and the driver shall not proceed until the school bus resumes motion or the flashing red lights are no longer actuated.

(b) Every school bus shall bear upon the front and rear thereof plainly visible signs containing the words "school bus" in letters not less than eight (8) inches in height, and in addition shall be equipped with red visual signals meeting the requirements of W.S. 31-5-929, which shall be actuated by the driver of the school bus whenever the vehicle is stopped and is receiving or discharging school children in designated school bus loading areas. When stopped to receive or discharge school children, the school bus driver shall keep the bus as far to the right of the roadway as reasonable. Except at a crosswalk, no school bus shall receive or discharge school children upon a roadway with four (4) or more lanes if the child would be required to cross a lane. The board of trustees of a school district may waive the requirement in this subsection that school bus drivers actuate visual signals if:

(i) The board finds the safety of children is not jeopardized; and

(ii) The bus is not on a public roadway.

(c) Before a school bus is sold by a school district all legal markings on the bus indicating it was once a school bus shall be concealed with paint unless sold to another school district in Wyoming.

(d) The driver of a vehicle upon a highway with separate roadways need not stop upon meeting or passing a school bus which is on a different roadway or when upon a controlled-access highway and the school bus is stopped in a loading zone which is a part of or adjacent to the highway and where pedestrians are not permitted to cross the roadway.

(e) A recording of images produced by a video system equipped on a school bus under W.S. 21-3-131(b)(x) shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained in it. A recorded image evidencing a violation of subsection (a) of this section shall be admissible in a judicial or administrative proceeding to adjudicate liability for the violation. If the identity of the driver of a vehicle that violates subsection (a) of this section is unknown, the registered owner of the vehicle recorded by a video system as provided in this subsection shall be fined one hundred ninety-five dollars ($195.00) provided that:

(i) A fine issued to a registered owner of a vehicle under this subsection shall not be considered a moving violation for the purpose of suspending a driver's license under W.S. 31-7-129 and shall not be considered a conviction under W.S. 31-5-1201 or as a prior conviction for any other purpose; and

(ii) It shall be a defense to enforcement of a fine issued under this subsection that the registered owner of the vehicle:

(A) Did not provide express or implied consent to the person who was operating the vehicle at the time of the violation; or

(B) Transferred ownership of the vehicle to a new owner prior to the observed violation.