State Highway Patrol Troopers and other agencies will be aggressively enforcing school bus safety laws next week as part of Operation Stop Arm.
Passing a stopped school bus is a Class 1 misdemeanor in North Carolina. If convicted, a person will receive five driving points on their driver’s license and is subject to fines up to $500. Passing a stopped school bus is a Class I felony if the driver strikes an individual, and a Class H felony is the victim dies.
The operation will begin around 6 a.m. daily and run through 5 p.m. The bulk of the effort will be Monday through Friday, although areas with larger numbers of violations could see stepped up enforcement in the future.
North Carolina has around 14,100 buses on the road every day, transporting 794,950 children back and forth to school, the Patrol said.
“Our continued goal is to save lives by raising awareness for school bus safety laws through educational and enforcement efforts,” said Col. Freddy L. Johnson, Jr., commander of the Patrol. “We all play an important role in ensuring our children load and unload from a school bus safely each day, whether you are a roadway user, parent, student, or bus driver.”
