Miranda's Law Would Create Bus Driver Safety Notification System

RIVER EDGE, NJ — Local and federal officials announced legislation Friday that would create a system where school districts and school bus companies would be automatically notified of bus driver violations.

The Miranda Vargas School Bus Driver Red Flag Act, or "Miranda's Law," is named after 10-year-old Miranda Vargas, a fifth-grader from East Brook Middle School in Paramus. She and a teacher were killed May 17 when the school bus they were in collided with a dump truck on Interstate 80. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) is co-sponsoring the legislation.

The law would require school districts and school bus companies to be automatically notified of when one of their school bus drivers received a traffic violation. The U.S. Department of Transportation would implement the nationwide employer notification service.

Under current federal regulations, employers of school bus drivers are required to check their employees' driving history annually. According to research Gottheimer referenced in his announcement Thursday, only 50 to 80 percent of commercial bus drivers self-report violations.

"Admittedly, Miranda’s Law won’t fix everything that caused this horrific accident. We still must do more on areas like ongoing training for our drivers. But it’s clear that school districts need these red flags raised to them as soon as possible, and as clearly as possible," Gottheimer said Friday when he announced the legislation with Vargas' father, Joevanny. "It won’t suffice for an agency to send an ambiguous letter, or to rely on school bus drivers to report accidents, reckless driving or a DUI themselves."

If the legislation is approved, employers would automatically be notified in real-time when a bus driver's license status changes because of a moving violation, crash, or license suspension.

Hudy Muldrow Sr., the man driving the school bus Vargas and more than 40 other people were on, had his driver's license suspended 14, including once this year. The bus was heading to Waterloo Village in Byram when Muldrow missed an exit, authorities previously said.

"How could someone who has had their driver's license suspended 14 times be trusted with the life of my daughter?" Joevanny Vargas said. "Yesterday would have been Miranda's 11th birthday. I am here to honor her legacy and to support the cause going forward. My daughter was sweet. She was an exceptional child."

Officials say Muldrow caused the horrific crash when he cut the school bus across three lanes of Route 80 traffic in an attempt to reach an official-use-only turn-around point in the median. He has been charged with two counts of death by auto, also known as vehicular homicideThrough a lawyer, Muldrow has maintained his innocence.

Some have said that “New Jersey school buses are almost never in serious crashes.” Tell that to Mr. Vargas and to the parents of every child on that bus. Or to scores of others who are killed or injured every year across our country involving a school bus. Or to the safety experts at the NTSB. Requiring lap-and-shoulder seat belts and keeping reckless drivers away from the wheel is just common sense.

Paramus School District officials said they were unaware of Muldrow's driving record.

Teacher Jennifer Williamson, 51, also died in the crash. All of remaining 43 people on the bus were injured, some critically, in the crash.

Paramus has made three-point seat belts, those with a shoulder strap, required on all of its school buses. Gottheimer and New Jersey state legislators have introduced legislation to require all school buses to have such seat belts.

A student complained to Paramus school officials that the seat belts on the bus did not fit correctly before the crash.

"Our lives will never be the same. The children on that bus will never be the same. This could have been avoided," Joevanny Vargas said. "This was no accident. The bus driver was clearly at fault. Why has it taken so long to protect our kids. Why did my daughter have to lose her life to change the obvious."

Watch Gotteheimer and Joevanny Vargas announce the legislation here:

Related:

• Paramus Officials Unaware Of Bus Driver's Record: Superintendent
• Paramus Community Mourns Dedicated Teacher Killed In Crash
• Teacher, Student Confirmed Dead In Paramus Field Trip Bus Crash
• Driver Charged In Fatal NJ School Bus Crash: Prosecutor
• Seat Belts Didn't Fit Correctly Before Bus Crash: Student
  

With reporting by Katie Kausch, Patch staff

Email daniel.hubbard@patch.com.

Image: Emergency personnel work at the scene of a fatal Paramus school bus crash on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive Thursday morning. (By Avi Gibli, used with permission)