Albany, New York – Today Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-South Queens) co-sponsored a bill, A.4950, which seeks to protect the health, safety, and welfare of school children riding school buses. Specifically the bill would amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to school bus photo violation monitoring systems and owner liability for failure to stop for a school bus displaying a red visual sign. Under current law, a ticket for illegally passing a stopped school bus displaying a red visual signal can be issued only by a police officer who witnesses the violation. This bill provides for additional enforcement options by authorizing a demonstration program to allow local governments to impose liability on the owners of motor vehicles for the failure of the drivers of such vehicles to comply with the law prohibiting the overtaking and passing of stopped school buses displaying red visual signals. The program allows for the use of mobile cameras mounted on school buses, as well as stationary cameras.

“This bill will expand the enforcement tools available and seeks to significantly lessen the numbers of violations that continue to compromise the health, safety and well-being of our students who ride school buses,” Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato said. “I commend Assemblyman Magnarelli, the sponsor of this bill, and look forward to passage in the Assembly!”

"The Broad Channel Civic Association fully supports this effort on the part of Assemblywoman Amato to keep our children safe. We recently experienced a horrible incident in Broad Channel in which a driver totally ignored a school bus warning sign and struck a child exiting the bus. The child suffered serious injury and could have been killed,” Dan Mundy, President of the Broad Channel Civic, said. “It is a clear example that some motorists do not respect the bus warning indicator and that additional enforcement actions should be available to law enforcement to address those who would put our children in harm’s way."

“The Heart of Rockaway supports the bill 110%. The Safety of our children is endangered with reckless drivers not stopping when the school bus sign open,” Edwin Williams, 1st Vice President of THOR, said.  “I am hoping the state legislature does the right thing and passes this bill.”

Several other states, including Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Iowa, Virginia, Connecticut, and Washington, have enacted legislation similar to this bill in response to a growing national concern over illegal passing, or "stop arm violations". As of February 12^th the bill remains in the codes committee.