I am pleased to announce legislation authorizing the use of “stop-arm” cameras on school buses to ticket illegal passers has been approved by both the Senate and the Assembly. The legislation will now go to Gov. Andrew Cuomo to be signed into law. I first introduced this bill in 2013.
The need for such life-saving measures recently returned to the public’s attention when a school bus driver from Chenango Valley Central School District saved a student’s life by pulling the student back on the bus as a speeding car passed the stopped school bus on the right side. Speeding, distracted drivers are a hazard to everyone, especially around school buses. Allowing municipalities to place cameras on the stop-arms of school buses and to issue fines for violations is a program that will help alleviate parents’ worries when they send their children off to school.
This is an important victory for the safety of our children. For too long, we have seen the troubling statistics about the illegal passing of school buses, and the tragic results. This bill will give law enforcement an important new tool to combat this dangerous practice. It is estimated that approximately 50,000 illegal passes happen each school day in New York. Similar legislation has been adopted in 13 states, which have since seen dramatic drops in violations.
The legislation authorizes municipalities to adopt a stop-arm camera program in their jurisdiction. Municipalities will then reach agreements with local school districts to install the cameras on their buses. The cameras activate when a bus is stopped and its stop-arm and red lights are deployed. They capture images of the license plates of illegal passers. Those images are then sent to law enforcement for review to confirm the violation before sending out tickets. Under this bill, those caught by the cameras are fined $250 for a first offense, $275 for a second offense within 18 months and $300 for a third offense or more within 18 months. Currently, an officer must witness an illegal pass to issue a ticket.
The fine revenue will help pay for the cost of the program. Unlike violations witnessed by law enforcement, those caught by the cameras are not subject to points. Owners of vehicles will have the ability to appeal the fine if the vehicle was being used without permission or stolen.
Over the last six years, I have worked with many advocates on this bill. Michael Sweeney, president of the New York Association for Pupil Transportation, released a statement in support of its passage.
“NYAPT applauds the collaboration by the State Senate and Assembly to reach an agreement on the elements of a stop-arm camera bill in our state. As we have stated over many years, motorists pass stopped school buses some 50,000 times every school day and that is just unacceptable,” Sweeney said. “This bill, authored by Assemblyman William Magnarelli and Sen. Timothy Kennedy, will provide school districts and local police departments with a powerful tool in our efforts to enforce the law and to bring down the incidents of this dangerous practice. We look forward to its ultimate approval as law by the governor. This is a good day for school bus safety and we are grateful to these sponsors for their leadership.”
The legislation will go into effect 30 days after being signed by the governor.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns about these or any other state issues, please call my office at 315-428-9651.
