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RALEIGH — Gov. Bev Perdue signed the Nicholas Adkins School Bus Safety Act Monday afternoon, increasing the penalty for those who strike and kill someone when they run through a school bus’ stop arm.

The new law, which goes into effect Dec. 1, is named for Nicholas Adkins, 16, of Stoneville, a student at McMichael High School in Mayodan. Adkins was killed in January when a driver did not stop for a school bus that had stopped and extended its stop arm.

“Parents should not have to worry that their children might be injured getting on and off the school bus,” Perdue said Monday. “The Nicholas Adkins School Bus Safety Act will ensure that reckless drivers who endanger our children will be held accountable for their actions.”

The measure was co-sponsored by Rep. Dale Folwell, a Winston-Salem Republican, and Nelson Cole, a Reidsville Democrat.

Under the law signed Monday, two major provisions are added:

lSchool districts will be authorized to mount cameras on their stop arms. Pictures from the cameras would be admissible as evidence in court.

lKilling someone after running a school bus stop sign will now be a Class H felony, meaning that courts are more likely to assign jail time for such incidents.

The woman who hit Adkins avoided jail time. Judy Earlene Stilwell lost her license for a year and paid a $1,000 fine.

“I feel like it’s going to make the public more aware of the consequences of something like this,” said Stoneville police Chief Mike James. “The days of a slap on the hand are over with.”

James and Stoneville’s mayor made the trip to Raleigh to watch Perdue sign the bill.

According to the governor’s office, Adkins’ family had planned to come, but both his mother and father were too sick to travel.

“It’s hard to legislate common sense and common courtesy,” Folwell said after the bill signing. “We would prefer not to have to run any more of these bills.”

Folwell’s 7-year-old son was killed in 1999 by a driver who ignored a stop arm. He has been involved in multiple changes to the state’s school bus safety law and said the Adkins bill marks the fourth such revision this decade.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com.