Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb is taking steps to keep students safe when getting off and on the bus this fall.
Over 200 law enforcement agencies across the state will be positioned along bus stops and routes to watch for stop-arm violations.
Officers will also work with local school corporations and bus drivers to identify problem areas where the highest number of violations occurs.
These overtime patrols are part of the state’s Stop Arm Violation Enforcement Program.
The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute developed the program last year and it is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
Thousands of bus drivers participated in an annual survey last year and reported more than 2,500 stop-arm violations in a single day.
This means that an estimated 450,000 violations could have occurred during the 2019 school year.
It is illegal to pass a bus that’s stopped and has its red lights flashing and stop-arm extended in Indiana.
This applies to all roads, with one exception: on multi-lane roads divided by a physical barrier or unpaved median. Vehicles traveling in the opposite direction of the bus may proceed with caution.
