By Lynn Campbell
IowaPolitics.com
DES MOINES, IA. -- A mom on a mission was one of the most visible lobbyists at the Iowa Capitol during the first week of the 2012 legislative session.
In May, Kari Halverson's 7-year-old daughter, Kadyn, was struck and killed by a pickup truck while trying to cross the road to board a school bus. Investigators said the truck driver was going 61 mph and did not heed the bus' flashing red lights and stop arm.
"My main thing as Kadyn's mother is for parents to know that this happens, because I had no idea," said Halverson of Kensett. "Be careful, and if your child has to cross the road, walk them across."
Halverson is urging lawmakers to approve "Kadyn's Law," which would, among other things, increase fines for drivers who fail to stop for school buses displaying flashing red lights and stop arm.
About a dozen people joined Halverson. They wore bright pink T-shirts, prominently featuring Kadyn's picture. Among them were advocates of a similar law in Mississippi. On their desks, lawmakers found thick, pink binders with details of the proposed law and letters of support, including one from Halverson.
"I laid in bed ... wondering, how I will ever be able to go on without my beautiful, full-of-life little girl?" Halverson wrote. "I feel that often and I live with the pain of losing my daughter every day. It's a hole in my heart that nothing can every fix. The pain is beyond words."
In a week's time, the advocates met with the governor and key lawmakers, but whether the legislation stands a chance this year is unclear.
"I think most of the stuff is already in place," said state Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield, a retired state trooper who chairs the Iowa House Public Safety Committee. "It's such a multi-faceted accident that precipitated the death of this little girl. To try and cover all the bases … how far do you go with this?"
Iowa House Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer, R-Garner, said lawmakers are sympathetic and happy to do whatever they can to keep children safe. But, she said, lawmakers still need to determine whether a problem exists that needs to be addressed.
"If people aren't respecting those stops on buses, it probably requires a combination of strategies to get people to do that," Upmeyer said.
In a single day last year, almost 112,000 bus drivers in 28 states reported motorists illegally passing their buses 37,756 times, according to a survey by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, a group that advocates for school transportation issues. The buses were stopped and displaying flashing red lights and stop arm.
In Iowa, 2,295 school buses recorded 327 such incidents one day last May, the vast majority on the left side of the bus where the stop arm is extended.
Iowa's law is seventh-worst in the nation in terms of fines, consequences and license suspension for people who don't stop for school buses, said Kim Koenigs, of Osage, who is helping Halverson and whose daughters were friends of Kadyn. She said increased fines would make people think twice.
Under Kadyn's Law, Iowa's fine of $200 for "school bus stop arm violations" — and no possibility of jail time — would increase to as much as $750 and a year in jail for a first violation, and up to $7,500, five years in jail and a six-month driver's license suspension for a third offense.
A serious injury would bring a mandatory five years in jail, and a death would bring a mandatory 15 or 25 years of jail time, depending on whether the driver was under the influence of drugs.
But Drake University Associate law professor Robert Rigg said while increased fines are intended "to really punish someone" with the hope of deterring others, no studies show that it works. Suspending a person's driver's license is a bigger punishment, he said.
"Unfortunately, increased penalties on any criminal statute generally do not change behavior, per se," Rigg said.
Kadyn's Law also calls for the installation of a camera system on each bus funded by the fines, a ban on using electronic devices in school zones and crossing areas, a bus safety curriculum for students in kindergarten through third grade, aides on every bus, and questions added to the state's driver's license exam about stop-arm rules.
Halverson said she would love for Iowa to require same-side pickup and drop-off, so children can avoid crossing the road to get on the bus.
"Why don't we have same-side pickup required on all school bus routes?" asked state Rep. Richard Anderson, R-Clarinda, an attorney and chairman of the Iowa House Judiciary Committee. "When a child has to walk across a lane of traffic and around the front of a bus to get on, that's a pretty big assignment for some kids."
Baudler said installing cameras on school buses would be expensive, as would same-side pickup. He encouraged advocates of Kadyn's Law to focus on getting drivers with suspended or revoked licenses off the road.
Aaron Gunderson, 32, of Northwood, the driver of the pickup involved in Kadyn's death, last week pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide by reckless driving and faces up to 15 years in prison when he's sentenced Jan. 27.
"That part of the process seems to work, so we need to focus on what led up to that — creating the safety to begin with so that we're not just focusing on what happens after a tragedy," Upmeyer said.
Gunderson testified that he never saw the stop arm or lights on the school bus, according to the Globe Gazette of Mason City. He said he didn't think the bus was stopped. Gunderson said he was speeding that day and used marijuana between 36 and 48 hours before the crash. He suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disorder that causes progressive vision loss. Gunderson did have a valid driver's license.
Kadyn's Law is expected to be one of several examples this year of how one person's story leads to a push for a change in state law. But Rigg warned lawmakers to be wary of whether the situation points to a larger problem or "glaring hole" in state law.
"I don't think it's a good idea to use anecdotal situations to generate policy," Rigg said.
See photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/iowapolitics/sets/72157628829111377/
See the Kadyn's Law website:
http://www.kadynslaw.com/
Read the criminal complaint against Gunderson:
http://www.dps.state.ia.us/commis/pib/Releases/2011/AaronGundersonComplaint.pdf
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