Thousands of school buses record bad drivers. The tickets can be intense. Phaedra Trethan, USA TODAY September 21, 2025 at 6:01 AM 2 The stop arm extends. The lights flash. The bus rolls to a halt. The children disembark. But then something goes wrong. A driver in the other lane doesn't stop.
- - Thousands of school buses record bad drivers. The tickets can be intense.
Phaedra Trethan, USA TODAY September 21, 2025 at 6:01 AM
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The stop arm extends. The lights flash. The bus rolls to a halt. The children disembark.
But then something goes wrong.
A driver in the other lane doesn't stop. Or one behind the bus gets impatient and tries to pass.
Sometimes it ends in tragedy, as it did in a crash in Rochester, Indiana, in 2018 when a driver struck three children from the same family at a bus stop. A 9-year-old girl and her brothers, 6-year-old twins, were killed and a fourth child, 11, was seriously injured.
Horrific crashes like that are why states have a long history of hefty penalties for people who illegally pass school buses. Now, technology in nearly two dozen states and 40,000 buses is helping identify and punish violators.
It's illegal in all 50 states to pass a stopped school bus that has its stop arm extended and its lights flashing when the driver approaches from behind the bus − and that's just one of the illegal acts to put kids in danger. Penalties can include $1,000 fines, license suspension and points in many states for even a first offense.
But data shows thousands of drivers every day ignore the risk. Here's what to know.
It's dangerous to illegally pass a stopped school bus
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, from 2000 to 2023, there were 61 fatal crashes involving a driver illegally passing a stopped school bus. (The federal agency notes that school buses are still statistically the safest way to transport children.)
The National School Transportation Association (NSTA) cited a one-day survey of 114,000 school bus drivers asking them to report violations they witnessed. The drivers reported more than 67,000 violations in just one day, leading the organization to conclude that "drivers illegally pass school buses millions of times nationwide, putting children at significant risk for injury or death."
What are the penalties?
Penalties for passing a school bus with its stop arm extended and its lights activated vary from state to state. Some, including Alabama, Alaska, Georgia and Delaware, apply 6 points to a violator's driver's license, which can lead to suspension, higher insurance rates and even loss of a license. (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Vermont, Florida, Michigan and Nebraska also add points for the violation.)
Illegally passing a school bus can prove costly in a more literal sense, too: Some states levy hefty fines, up to $1,000 for a first offense in states such as Arkansas, California, Tennessee and Hawaii. If a driver causes an injury or death, penalties are even harsher, including even higher fines, felony charges and prison sentences.
Here's where and when to stop for a school bus
Laws vary by state, but there's widespread agreement on a few rules:
On a typical two-lane road, drivers going in both directions are required to stop when a school bus activates its red flashing lights and extends the stop arm. Drivers behind the bus must also wait while a school bus comes to a complete stop at railroad crossings (as they're required to do).
On a roadway divided by a barrier, median or other physical barrier, drivers going in the same direction as the bus must stop.
But some states have additional rules about when and where drivers need to stop, so drivers should be aware of local laws.
Curt Macysyn, NSTA's executive director, said he's a little envious of the "Click It or Ticket" campaign that convinced drivers of the importance of seat belts − merging the message of safety with the implication of enforcement for those who don't.
"We need a similar thing, especially now that kids are back to school," Macysyn said.
Macysyn offered a few reasons for why people illegally drive past school buses: ignorance of the laws in their area, distractions, or simply being in a hurry.
Technology is used to crack down on violators
Bus Patrol, a Virginia-based company, has worked with school districts and law enforcement across 22 states to outfit about 40,000 buses with cameras for their stop arms. The goal: to identify violators, hold them accountable, and deter them from becoming repeat offenders. It's the leading provider of stop-arm cameras in the country, with about 90% market share.
The company uses artificial intelligence to identify the owners of cars that pass buses illegally. Law enforcement officers review the footage, then determine whether a violation occurred, said Bus Patrol's chief growth officer, Steve Randazzo. Bus Patrol handles the administrative tasks for each jurisdiction, such as mailing the ticket, collecting payment (which pays for the technology) and even helping schedule court hearings for disputes.
Since 2017, when the company began outfitting buses with the cameras, Bus Patrol has found 90% of violators do not repeat the offense, Randazzo said. Before the technology is deployed, company representatives work with the community to build awareness, hold forums to determine where it's needed most, and meet with school officials and PTAs.
"Then our community members can use the data to make changes, like adding illuminated road signs, moving the bus stop to a safer place, or even stepping up law enforcement patrols in a particular area," he said.
"There are a lot of folks who are distracted out there. On their phones, heads in the clouds. ... Even our cars are designed for distraction − you basically have an iPad in a lot of cars now.
"Look, we know kids are going to be kids, they're going to be silly and they trust the bus to keep them safe," Randazzo said. "The onus is on us as adults to be careful, and it's just not worth it if you can't sit still for 30 seconds or a minute" while kids get on or off a bus.
In Las Vegas, Nevada Assembly member Tracy Brown-May worked to get an exception to the state's prohibition on traffic cameras so Bus Patrol's technology could be added to school buses. Brown-May represents about 74,000 people who live in Las Vegas, and as a bicyclist and someone who works with adults with disabilities, she understands how a city built with motorists in mind poses risks for pedestrians, especially children.
She saw "thousands of kiddos going to school every day, and I was watching the violations every day." She said the city's long, straight and wide roads typically have 45 mph speed limits, and drivers often exceed that.
"We have to slow traffic," she said, and partnering with Bus Patrol to add the cameras gives drivers "a reason to slow down."
Macysyn, with NSTA, said the technology is "not a panacea," and he believes the technology can be part of a multipronged approach.
"The best solution I see is high-visibility enforcement campaigns," he said, with officers parked near bus stops. But he acknowledged many municipalities don't have the resources to post police at every bus stop every morning and afternoon.
"It takes a lot of tools in the toolbox," he said. "But the issue is largely dependent on the motoring public."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: School bus crackdown targets people who pass illegally
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