The NYS Bus Distributors Association participated in a statewide Operation Safe Stop event with local and state officials in Marlboro, NY, to draw awareness to the importance of stopping when drivers see a stopped school bus with its red lights flashing. Operation Safe Stop Day, an initiative of the New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, is a statewide education and enforcement campaign targeting drivers who put children in harm’s way by illegally passing stopped school buses.
“It is very unfortunate that even with all the safety features of today’s school buses, including video cameras and stop arms, drivers are still illegally passing school buses,” said New York State Bus Distributors Association President, Paul Daniels. “We proudly support Operation Safe Stop and call on New York drivers to be more aware of the importance of stopping when they see the red lights flashing on a school bus. We look forward to continuing to work with the state legislature to increase penalties on those who illegally pass a school bus.”
According to the New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, an estimated 35,000 drivers in New York illegally pass stopped school buses every day school is in session. Each year an estimated 50 injuries occur from drivers illegally passing a stopped school bus.
The Operation Safe Stop Day event was held at the Marlboro Elementary School in Marlboro, NY, with Marlboro Superintendent of Schools Michael Brooks; Town of Marlborough Police Chief Gerald Cocozza; Ulster County Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum; Ulster County Chief Assistant District Attorney Michael Kavanagh; New York State Senator Bill Larkin’s Executive Director Jeri Rhodes; New York State Senator Rich Funke’s Chief of Staff Matt Nelligan; President of the New York State Bus Distributors Association Paul Daniels, New York Association of Pupil Transportation local chapter members, and local PTA members.