Thousands of citations issued for illegal school bus passings in Monroe County

Post author:Thomas
Post published:April 25, 2025
Post category:New York / Operation Safe Stop / School bus
Post comments:0 Comments

Henrietta, N.Y. (WHAM) — Community leaders gathered Thursday at the Rush-Henrietta Central School District transportation facility for the annual Operation Safe Stop event, aiming to remind motorists of the critical importance of stopping for school buses.

The event featured a reenactment of a student being struck to underscore the dangers of illegally passing a stopped school bus with flashing red lights.

An estimated 50,000 drivers illegally pass school buses every day in New York state.

David Richardson, President of the Rochester Area Transportation Supervisors Association, highlighted the severity of the issue.

Firefighters and EMS workers conduct a reenactment of a student being struck by a vehicle during the Operation Safe Stop event at the Rush-Henrietta Central School District transportation facility Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Photo by Natalie Calzetoni/WHAM)

“A recent survey of 892 school bus drivers reported 1,970 illegal passings in a typical school day,” said Richardson, who also provided alarming statistics on the number of citations issued in local school districts for the 2024-25 school year.

“East Irondequoit 1,077, Hilton, 318, Greece, 3,839, and Webster, 1,003 and that’s through Friday, April 11,” Richardson said. “That is a total of 6,237 citations for just four districts in 137 days of school.”

Monroe County Executive Adam Bello explained the county’s partnership with a company called Bus Patrol, which equips school buses with cameras to catch violators.

“How it works is that if a car passes a stopped school bus, some of these school busses have cameras on them,” Bello said. “Those cameras will take a picture of the license plate when it passes. The driver gets a $250 fine for their first offense. It increases with further violations.”

BACKGROUND: Bus safety program expanding in Monroe County | Rochester City Council approves cameras on school bus stop arms | Syracuse man arrested for speeding by stopped F-M school bus

Bello noted that since the installation of these cameras last fall, more than 11,000 tickets have been issued in participating districts.

“Wherever you’re going, it’s not more important than someone’s life,” Bello said. “This could be your child, your grandchild, your neighbor. Do the right thing. Stop and wait.”