Please see the information below provided by the Suffolk County Police Department pertaining to the Suffolk County School Bus Camera Safety Program, which will officially begin enforcement on May 1, 2021, with minimum fines of $250 per offense. 

*Please note that this is a county program and fines are levied by Suffolk County. If you have any questions or need more information, please visit the Suffolk County School Bus Safety Program page.

Background
In December 2019, the County Legislature established the County’s Stop Arm Camera Program, stemming from state-enabling legislation. All school districts across the county have agreed to participate, authorizing the installation of cameras to record and ticket motorists who illegally pass a stopped school bus. The program will enhance student safety across Suffolk County by curbing illegal driver behavior around stopped school buses, and ultimately better protect children as they enter and exit their school buses each day.

Enforcement: When and Where You Must Stop

• Motorists must stop in either direction when a stopped school bus has its red lights flashing and/or when the stop arm is deployed.
• The program will be enforced across all applicable lanes of traffic.

Divided Highway Exception

• At this time, the County will not enforce this law on traffic on the opposite side of divided highways where students do not normally cross.
• Divided highways that fall within the ticketing exception contain large barriers, fences, guardrails, or very wide grass dividers.
• Divided highways that fall within this exception, include, but are not limited to sections of: Babylon-Farmingdale Road, Broad Hollow Road, Cross River Drive, Deer Park Avenue, Middle Road, Nesconset Highway, Nicolls Road, North Ocean Avenue / Patchogue-Mount Sinai Road, North Road, Nugent Drive, Port Jefferson-Westhampton Road/Captain Daniel Roe Highway, Ocean Parkway, Sills Road / Patchogue-Yaphank Road, Suffolk Avenue, Sunrise Highway, Veterans Memorial Highway, William Floyd Parkway.

Bus Driver Wave

• Please also note that it is NOT a valid defense to illegally pass a stopped school bus if waved on by a bus driver. 

*Please note this information was provided to school districts via a correspondence with Tom Arana-Wolfe, Suffolk County Police Department, School Resource Officer. **Please also note that this was published on April 30, 2021, therefore the information listed above may have changed.