Buffalo, NY - Mayor Byron W. Brown, who advocated for the safety measure, today applauded Governor Andrew Cuomo’s signing of a new state law requiring school buses to be outfitted with cameras to catch motorists who unlawfully pass buses which are stopped to load or unload students.
The bill requires cameras to be attached to the swinging “stop arms” on the side of the buses. The cameras would activate as a driver illegally passes the bus when the stop arms are out and lights are flashing red, indicating students are getting on or off the vehicle, capturing the vehicle’s license plate number.
“Ensuring our children make it to and from school safely is the upmost priority. School Bus cameras will hold accountable reckless drivers who endanger our students by failing to stop when a school bus has its red lights on,” Mayor Brown said.
Images recorded by the cameras would go to local authorities who could impose fines up to $300. The law also calls for municipalities to install signs along school bus routes reminding drivers it is illegal to pass a stopped school bus, and letting them know cameras are in use.
In advocating for use of the bus arm cameras, law enforcement officials estimated 50,000 drivers in New York illegally passed stopped school buses every school day in 2018.