It’s National School Bus Safety Week and Broome County is using the week of awareness to once again remind drivers of its Stop-Arm Camera program. The program has been extremely successful in catching drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses, tallying 362 violations since the start of the 2021 school year.
In 2019 the Broome County Legislature passed a local law allowing local school districts to outfit their buses with stop-arm cameras. When a bus is illegally passed, the camera captures video of the vehicle, the extended stop-arm it is passing, and the violator’s license plate. A ticket is then automatically issued by mail to the driver to whom the vehicle is registered. A first offense carries a fine of $250; second and third offenses within an 18-month period are worth $275 and $300 respectively. The ticket also includes information that can be entered online to watch camera footage of the violation. Failure to pay the fine will result in a delinquency notice and carries an additional late fee penalty.
For more information, and to find a monthly tally of local violations, visit www.gobroomecounty.com/e911/stop-arm.
