Rockland County Executive Ed Day announced that six school districts have officially opted into the Rockland County School Bus Safety program.
In the program, the county government partnered with company BusPatrol to launch a violator-funded business model allowing districts to equip school buses with cameras on the bus stop-arms at no-cost. Drivers caught by those cameras illegally passing activated stop-arms on school buses will be issued penalties by mail, with $250 for the first violation, $275 for the second and $300 for the third.
The participating districts are Pearl River UFSD, Nanuet UFSD, North Rockland CSD, Clarkstown CSD, Suffern CSD, and Nyack UFSD. The county”™s school districts which have still not opted in include South Orangetown, BOCES, and East Ramapo.
To date, 165 buses have been equipped across the Suffern, Nanuet, and Pearl River School Districts, with 111 tickets issued in six weeks.
“This is a completely free program that without a doubt will protect children from being killed and we”™re shocked we don”™t have 100% participation from the schools yet,” said Day. “I urge parents in the districts which have not opted in to contact their school superintendents and request they do so expeditiously.”
