BATON ROUGE, La. – In an effort to protect children from accidents, Governor Kathleen Blanco signed a law ordering school districts to install safety arms on the front bumpers of their buses by Jan. 1.
The attachments are designed to prevent children from walking directly in front of a school bus. Previously, Louisiana state law only required buses acquired after 1995 to include the devices. Legislators created the new bill after two five-year-olds died in accidents in Baton Rouge and near Monroe.
Representative Mike Walsworth estimates that roughly 2,000 buses lack the device. School districts will have to pay for the attachments, which cost about $300 a piece.
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