Operation ‘Safe Stop Day’ is Thursday April 22

One of the most recurring problems I have written about in my more than 30 years in radio is people driving past stopped school buses.  Drivers have been speeding by stopped school buses since my own children were young and students at St. Mary's School on Walnut Street, in Oneonta.  There, it was a commonplace offense.  It seems every year, over decades, people just can't get it into their heads that passing a well marked, stopped school bus is dangerous and totally unacceptable.  It isn't that hard, folks!

The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office is participating in this year's Operation Safe Stop Day on April 22, 2021.  Operation Safe Stop Day is a combined effort of law enforcement agencies, participating school districts, the Governors Traffic Safety Committee, County Traffic Safety Boards, the State Education Department and the Department of Motor Vehicles and is aimed at educating the motoring public that passing a stopped school bus is both dangerous and You might think this is a no-brainer but annually more than 50,000 motorists are ticketed for  doing this illegal act.

And passing a stopped school bus can carry a pretty hefty price tag with it.

During "Safe Stop," police officers will be in marked and unmarked patrol units on selected bus routes that have a history of illegal passing complaints.
Police will stop and issue tickets to drivers who pass stopped school buses.

PENALTIES FOR PASSING A STOPPED SCHOOL BUS

First Conviction $250.00 $400.00 up to 30 days in jail
Second Conviction $600.00 $750.00 up to 180 days in jail
(w/in 3 years)
Third or Subsequent Convictions
(within 3 years) $750.00 $1,000.00 up to 180 days in jail