Illegal Passing Kills Children

ALBANY, NY (04/01/2008)(readMedia)-- The New York Association for Pupil Transportation announces the thirteenth annual statewide OPERATION SAFE STOP DAY on April 2, 2008. On this day, school transportation officials, state leaders, local and state law enforcement officials and the media cooperate to alert the public to the dangers of illegally passing school buses and to track the incidents of illegal passing across the state.

OPERATION SAFE STOP DAY began in 1993 in the Central New York and Mohawk Valley areas as a voluntary effort among local concerned educators and law enforcement officials. This day reminds us of the stark and startling fact that motorists pass stopped school buses over 50,000 times each day in New York State. That is 50,000 times every day that a child is placed at great risk of being injured or even killed.

NYAPT reminds the public that in May 2004, 7-year old Mallory Eddy was killed in Munnsville, NY, when a passenger car passed her school bus on the right side and struck her as she exited the school bus near her home. In June 2006, Chana Friedlander was killed in New York City when a passing motorist struck her as she crossed the street to board her school bus. In the five year period from 2002 to 2007, there were 75 children reported injured by vehicles that had passed their stopped school buses. This is a real and very serious problem that can and must be stopped.

OPERATION SAFE STOP is a publicly supported educational program intended to remind the public that the law requires them to STOP for a school bus that is stopped and has its red flashing lights engaged. Those red lights, and the STOP arms that accompany them, mean that a child is about to board the school bus or step down from the school bus. In short, all vehicles moving in either direction are required by law to STOP. Violators face stiff fines and penalties.

In an innovative and cutting edge effort to help combat this dangerous problem, the New York Association for Pupil Transportation is pleased to join with New York State’s Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, David Swarts, in announcing that a Syracuse City School District school bus will be equipped with a Remington ELSAG mobile license plate reader. The plate reader, which is being subsidized by a grant from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is intended to demonstrate the effectiveness of such devices in identifying and apprehending motorists who pass school buses illegally and therefore endanger our children.

The ELSAG mobile license plate reader is similar to those employed by many police departments in the state, including the Syracuse Police Department. The demonstration project to be managed by NYAPT will include public education, progress reports to the media, issuance of tickets to violators, and training for school bus drivers in the capturing of information that increases the likelihood of convictions of illegal passers. It will include an assessment as to the effectiveness of the device in apprehending violators and the effects of the demonstration on public awareness of the problem

Commissioner David J. Swarts of the State Department of Motor Vehicles and Chair of the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee said, "I congratulate all of the partners here today and across the state that are cracking down on those who disobey the traffic law. These joint efforts will help reduce the incidence of illegal school bus passing which is a chronic problem throughout our state that needlessly places our student children in danger of injury or death."

NYAPT President, James Minihan (Katonah-Lewisboro SD), thanked the Commissioner and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee “for placing its confidence in NYAPT and the school transportation industry to help execute this important demonstration project. We need to do everything in our power to ensure the safety of every child who steps onto or off from a school bus. This project is consistent with that very important objective.”

Onondaga County Traffic Safety Board Chair, Patricia Wortley, noted: The Traffic Safety Board and our local law enforcement communities are united behind this effort to publicize the dangers of illegal passing and to educate the public on the law and penalties for violation.”

Syracuse City Schools Superintendent, Daniel Lowengard, commented: “This new camera will be an important tool in assuring parents in our district and other districts that their children are safer than ever riding yellow school buses. This new safety feature will lead to the apprehension of those motorists who refuse to obey traffic laws and jeopardize the lives of our children. We are hopeful that this will be a great success and can be replicated around the state.”

Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney added: “This is great news for the kids in the Syracuse City School District. Motorists across Onondaga County and across the state will be reminded to be cautious when they are driving near a school bus, and remember that it is against the law to pass a stopped school bus. Our most important job is keeping our kids safe."

For further information on this important project, on Operation Safe Stop or on the overall issue of illegal passing of school buses, please contact Peter Mannella at the New York Association for Pupil Transportation at 518-463-4937 or cell as needed at 518-588-3924.

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