State Sen. Elaine Phillips announced today that the state Senate passed a bill that she co-sponsored that requires a 60-day license suspension for any driver convicted of two speeding violations in a school zone.

“There is no greater issue than protecting the safety and well-being of our children, and we must continue taking all measures to do so,” Phillips said. “Increasing penalties upon drivers who chose to ignore reduced speed limits within school zones is not just a common sense action, but a measure that will reduce the number of children involved in motor vehicle crashes. Motor vehicle crashes is the leading cause of injury-related death for children between the ages of 5 and 14, and this measure is the first step to ending this epidemic.”

The bill (S.336B) would require a 60-day license suspension for any driver convicted of two speeding violations within a school zone, committed within an 18-month period.

Children between the ages of 0-14 are five times more likely to die if they are struck by a car traveling at 35 miles per hour versus a vehicle traveling at 25 miles per hour.

Posted speed limit reductions within school zones exist to counter this very reality.

The problem of speeding in school zones is also a real one, with the New York City Department of Transportation determining in 2013 that at over 100 schools surveyed, drivers exceeded speed limits between 75 percent-100 percent of the time within a quarter-mile of school buildings.

The Senate passed a similar measure last year but the Assembly failed to pass it.

The bill has been delivered to the Assembly.