To make sure that Rockland County drivers remember to stop when a school bus has its red stop sign out, the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office recently participated in an enforcement detail.
Funded by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, the detail placed extra officers on the road in unmarked vehicles to follow school buses picking up or dropping off children and issued traffic summonses to drivers who ignored the red flashing lights on the school bus and other violations.
According to state law enforcement officials, Operation Safe Stop seeks to promote school bus safety through education and enforcement efforts and to educate drivers about the dangers of passing stopped school buses.
According to police, an estimated 50,000 motor vehicles illegally pass New York State school buses every day.
The penalties for passing a school bus with its red lights flashing are $400 fine for the first conviction and offenders could also face up to six months in jail.
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