The Albany County Legislature is reviewing legislation that would levy fines on owners of motor vehicles that fail to stop for school buses that are picking up or dropping off students and have a stop-arm deployed.

The local law, which will be discussed in committee this week, would establish a program that involves the County Executive entering into agreements with school districts for the installation, maintenance and use of school bus photo violation monitoring systems.

“This law will add another layer of protection for children when the school bus is stopped for loading and unloading with its red lights flashing and stop-arms extended. The ability to capture violators with camera systems and levy significant fines upon them will hopefully finally get drivers to take seriously the need to stop when buses are loading and unloading students regardless of the inconvenience it may cause the driver,” said Albany County Legislator Matthew Miller, who co-sponsored the bill, adding this is an issue that is personal to him. “As a teacher for nearly 30 years, the health and safety of school children has always been a paramount concern for me. As a County Legislator, the opportunity now exists to act upon those concerns and to protect our children from aggressive, impatient or distracted drivers through Local Law C.”

Prior to New York State enacting legislation in 2019, which allows for monitoring systems to impose fines on motor vehicles, drivers had to be observed violating the law by a police officer for any ticket to be written. Multiple jurisdictions across the state and country have since enacted similar legislation in response to a growing concern over the number of violations that occur.

An estimated 50,000 motor vehicles illegally pass New York State school buses every day. During Operation Safe Stop in 2018, 2,191 police officers from 43 law enforcement agencies participated in the enforcement campaign. Their combined efforts produced 838 tickets for passing stopped school buses, and 2,814 tickets for other moving violations, according to the New York Department of Motor Vehicles.

If passed, Local Law C would provide monitoring systems that may be stationary or mobile, and can be installed on buses owned or operated by a school district, pursuant to an agreement with that school district. Stationary systems would be installed on County roadways.

“This legislation is a win-win for everyone involved, specifically the students who are getting on or off a school bus and who are put at risk every time a driver speeds past a school bus. Through this program we are also easing the financial burden on school districts that already have strapped budgets,” stated Lynne Lekakis, Chairwoman of the Mass Transit Committee.

The local law also takes into account the privacy of drivers, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists who may be captured in a photograph by a school bus photo violation monitoring device and requires the County to adopt measures that protect an individual’s identity.

Owners found to be in violation of the Vehicle and Traffic Law that requires a vehicle to stop for a school bus could be fined $250 for a first offense, $275 for a second violation within 18 months of the first violation and $300 for a third or subsequent violations. An additional penalty of $25 will be given for failure to respond to a notice of liability sent to the owner within the prescribed time period.