By Fox23.com News Staff
GLENPOOL, Okla. — Legislation has been filed aimed to help improve safety for students traveling to and from school on state highways.
Representative Chris Banning, R-Bixby, has authored House Bill 2979, known as the Talyn Bain Act, which would require the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) to make reduced-speed school zones on certain state highways upon request by local jurisdiction. The measure would apply to high-speed roadways that are directly alongside public or private schools and don’t have adequate access roads or grade-separated entrances.
The act is named after the 9-year-old boy who was killed in a crash on East 151st, or Highway 67, in Glenpool in September. A semi-truck was turning left from the highway onto Warrior Road when a truck pulling a trailer crossed the center median to avoid the semi and hit the car Bain was in. A Glenpool Public Schools bus was also involved in the crash, but no children on the bus were injured.
“Talyn was a young boy with a full life ahead of him, and his loss is something no family should ever have to endure,” Banning said. “This bill seeks to honor Talyn in a meaningful way by taking responsible steps to better protect children on their way to and from school.”
ODOT would be required to establish a 45 miles per hour school zone on qualifying state highways adjacent to schools. The reduced speed would be enforceable during designated drop-off and pick up times when flashers were active.
“This is a practical step that helps communities slow things down where children are crossing, learning and growing,” Banning said. “When local schools and cities see a safety concern, this bill gives them a way to step in and help prevent another family from facing this kind of loss.”
ODOT has already lowered the speed limit on Highway 67 from 65 miles per hour to 45 from rast of Peoria. Approximately 15 percent of all crashes in Glenpool happen along the stretch of Highway 67.
If passed, the bill would take effect November 1.
