School Bus Stop Arm Cameras Could Come to New York

Illegally Passing Motorists are the Target

ALBANY, NY (05/06/2013)(readMedia)-- THE EVENT:

The New York Association for Pupil Transportation will hold a press event at 9:30 AM on Tuesday, May 7th in the Third Floor Terrace in the Legislative Office Building on State Street in Albany.

The event will focus on the legislation allowing the installation and use of STOP ARM CAMERAS on school buses for the purpose of identifying and prosecuting motorists who illegally pass stopped school buses in violation of Section 1174 of the NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law.

NYAPT will announce its support for comprehensive reform legislation being introduced in the Legislature this year by Senator Catharine Young (R-C-I, Olean), who will present the bill and offer remarks.

Six manufacturers and distributors of STOP ARM CAMERA hardware and software will be on hand to demonstrate their technology and to share experiences they have had in the other states that have enacted similar legislation.

BACKGROUND:

The issue of illegal passing of school buses by motorists is one that presents significant risk of injury and harm to our children.

The New York Association for Pupil Transportation joins all who care about school bus safety and the safety of our children in deploring illegal passing and in striving to eliminate it in New York State.

The school bus community estimates that some 50,000 motorists will pass a stopped school bus on any given school day in New York State. On May 1st, the Association conducted a a survey of some 239 school bus drivers who recorded that motorists had passed their stopped school buses 306 times---that is an average of 1.28 times per bus or 64,000 passes for the day of the 50,000 bus on the road. But regardless of the volume of illegal passes from year-to-year, the problem continues to place our children at great risk of injury and death and it needs to be addressed.

WHO:

New York Association for Pupil Transportation
WHAT:

Announcement of new school bus safety legislation (to allow stop arm cameras on school buses) and the support of the school bus industry for its passage.
WHEN: Tuesday May 07, 2013 at 09:30AM Eastern Time (US & Canada)
WHERE: 3rd Floor Terrace-Legislative Office Bldg
State Street
Albany, New York 12210
NOTES:

there will be distributors of stop arm camera technology on hand to demonstrate the cameras and to share images of cars and trucks passing school buses that are stopped to pick up or drop off students...members of the association will be available to share incidents in their operations where children were nearly hit or were injured by a passing motorist...