Local and State Police and sheriffs deputies will be out in force today watching for motorists who illegally pass stopped school buses. It's called Operation Safe Stop Day in New York and the effort is intended to call attention to the estimated 50,ooo drivers across the state who fail to stop for buses on any given school day.
Police say despite the $250 to $400 fines for the first violation, five points on the driver's license and even imprisonment, many motorists still ignore the law. They say this puts children at risk each and every day as they go to school. As recently as February 13, 2013, a child in New York State was struck by a vehicle that had passed a yellow school bus that was stopped.
In the past several years on Operation Safe Stop Day, an average of 1,300 tickets were given to drivers for the illegal passing of school buses.