“School bus safety is a high priority in Pennsylvania,” according to a PennDOT release. “Students, parents, teachers, administrators, transportation personnel and the motoring public all play important roles in keeping our children safe while on or around the school bus.”

“During this school year, we have witnessed and heard of an increased number of motorists failing to obey the laws pertaining to school buses, particularly along Route 6,” Conewango Police Chief Jason Peters said. “Drivers are required to stop for school buses whenever their red lights are flashing and the stop arm is extended. This includes multi-lane roadways like Route 6 that do not have a median or barrier.”

Peters said the department contacted PennDOT to help notify motorists.

“With the now active Bus Patrol camera system, Conewango Township Police are processing numerous school bus passing violations captured on their video surveillance system on a weekly basis,” he said. “State Route 6 and State Route 62, both being multi-lane highways, are where the majority of the violations are occurring.”

“This is not a new phenomenon for our jurisdiction as Conewango Township Police have always concentrated on those locations as often as possible but now all violations are being captured on video along with registration information.”

“PennDOT was contacted in an effort to notify the traveling public with their message boards strategically placed in areas where the majority of the violations are occurring,” Peters said. “Signs are now in place on Route 6 in Starbrick in both the east and west ends of drop off and pick up locations for school children.”

Details of the Stopping Law include:

¯ Motorists must stop at least 10 feet away from school buses that have their red lights flashing and stop arm extended;

¯ Motorists must stop when they are behind a bus, meeting the bus, or approaching an intersection where a bus is stopped;

¯ Motorists following or traveling alongside a school bus must also stop until the red lights have stopped flashing, the stop arm is withdrawn, and all children have reached safety; and

If physical barriers such as grassy medians, guide rails or concrete median barriers separate oncoming traffic from the bus, motorists in the opposing lanes may proceed without stopping.

“We want the students to make it safely to school and back home every day,” Peters said. “That requires all drivers to follow the rules and never assume students will not be crossing the street in front of them.”

“That also means all drivers in all lanes of Route 6 must stop when they encounter a school bus (with its lights activated) whether they are in the passing lane or traveling in the oncoming direction,” he said.

The penalties if convicted of violating Pennsylvania’s School Bus Stopping Law can include a $250 fine, five points on the motorist’s driving record, and a 60-day license suspension, according to PennDOT.