More school districts in North Hempstead are joining in the school bus arm program, which tickets drivers who fail to stop for buses in a bid to bolster school and public safety.
This month, three school districts—Great Neck, Sewanhaka, and Herricks—joined the Bus Stop Arm Program.
The program is led by BusPatrol America, which installs the camera equipment on school district buses.
BusPatrol America installs AI hardware on the sides of school buses, which detects when cars illegally pass a bus while children cross the street. Drivers are then issued violations.
Fines begin at $250 for the first offense and increase by $25 for each following offense. Fines are capped at $300.
The program is initiated through an agreement between the school district and BusPatrol America but is approved through the Town of North Hempstead, which is designated as the municipality enforcing the traffic law.
The town board voted 6-0, with Town Council Member Christine Liu absent, to implement the program in July.
“As a mom, I’m always mindful of how to keep our children safe and this program is specifically designed to discourage reckless driving around school buses when they are particularly vulnerable,” North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena said. “If this prevents even one tragedy involving our kids in our families, then it’s a positive.”
The bus arm program was established through an inter-municipal agreement between the town and Nassau County. The town, which does not have its own court, is not capable of prosecuting traffic and parking violations, thus requiring an agreement with the county who is.
The town board previously adopted a resolution entering into an agreement with BusPatrol America in September 2022, but the implementation waas stalled due to legal action.
The Port Washington School District was the first in the town to opt into the program, which was approved by the town board in October.
The Roslyn School District followed in November.
Both the Roslyn and Port school districts started their program on Jan. 1 after a 30-day warming period in December. Great Neck, Sewanhaka and Herricks will not implement a warning period.
