INDIANAPOLIS — The state recently issued results of the overtime patrols that were conducted by nearly 40 law enforcement agencies to create safer school bus stops around Indiana.
The departments, which were awarded Stop Arm Violation Enforcement (SAVE) grants, issued a total of 2,675 citations and 1,430 warnings during the two-month mobilization, which kicked off at the start of the 2019 school year.
As a result of the funding, officers conducted an additional 2,057 patrols and worked an extra 5,690 hours, targeting speeding, aggressive driving, stop-arm and other traffic violations along bus stops and routes.
The SAVE program is funded by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.
Out of the thousands of citations issued, 453 were stop arm violations and another 1,239 involved speeding. Other larger citation categories included failing to stop at a stop sign or stop light (173), not wearing a seat belt (134) and equipment violations (113).
State law requires a school bus to use flashing lights and extend its stop arm while loading and unloading students. The law also requires drivers to stop while the arm is extended. On highways divided by a physical barrier or unimproved median, vehicles traveling in the opposite direction as the school bus may proceed with due caution.