Six Rockland Districts Enrolled In County School Bus Safety Initiative

County Executive Ed Day is happy to announce that six school districts have officially opted into the Rockland County School Bus Safety program including Pearl River UFSD, Nanuet UFSD, North Rockland CSD, Clarkstown CSD, Suffern CSD, and Nyack UFSD.

Every day in New York State, an estimated 50,000 drivers illegally pass stopped school buses, putting the lives and safety of children at risk. To make roads safer for our children, the County of Rockland has 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.

Districts which have still not opted in include South Orangetown, BOCES, and East Ramapo.

“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 County Executive Ed Day. “I urge parents in the districts which have not opted in to contact their school superintendents and request they do so expeditiously.”

So far 165 buses have been equipped across the Suffern, Nanuet, and Pearl River School Districts with 111 tickets issued in only six weeks. The County anticipates another 300 buses to be equipped by September in North Rockland and Clarkstown.

Drivers caught by those cameras illegally passing activated stop-arms on school buses will then be issued the following penalties by mail:

1st Violation $250

2nd Violation $275

3rd Violation $300

(within 18-month period)