“Operation Safe Stop Day combines stepped up enforcement with public education to address this problem. This is a collaborative effort involving county police and other law enforcement agencies, school districts, parent groups, traffic safety organizations and the media. We must do all we can to make sure children get to and from school safely.”

In the last 5 years, 35 students in New York State were injured or killed by vehicles passing stopped school buses with flashing red lights. Approximately 50,000 motorists illegally pass stopped school buses every school day in New York. A first time penalty for illegally passing a school bus is a $250 fine, five points on a driver license, and/or 30 days in jail. The law applies to vehicles approaching a bus with flashing red lights from the front or overtaking it from the rear, even on school grounds and divided or multi-lane highways.

For further information, contact Westchester County Department of Public Works, Traffic Safety section, at 995-2271.