The Ravena-Coyemans-Selkirk Central School District is excited to announce the launch of a new School Bus Safety Program starting Thursday, September 4, 2025. All RCS school buses are equipped with the BusPatrol Safety Platform, which includes stop-arm enforcement cameras that detect vehicles illegally passing buses when their stop signs and red lights are activated.
Student safety is our top priority. According to the New York Association for Pupil Transportation, drivers in New York State illegally pass stopped school buses an estimated 50,000 times per day. In communities that have adopted similar programs, such violations have dropped by over 40%.
The cameras are live starting on Thursday, September 4, 2025. During this time, vehicle owners observed illegally passing a stopped school bus will receive a warning notice by mail, with no monetary penalty.
Live ticketing will begin on Monday, October 6, 2025. Per New York State law, violations captured by the stop-arm cameras are treated as civil offenses, and fines are issued to the vehicle owner, not the driver. The minimum penalty is $250. Driver’s license points or insurance rates cannot be affected through the stop-arm camera civil enforcement.
This technology has been provided at zero cost to the school district and taxpayers, as the program is entirely violator-funded. With this technology in place, our bus drivers can stay focused on what matters most - safely transporting students.
How will RCS benefit from the Safety Program, and how does it work?
The violator-funded safety program handles the procurement, installation, management, and maintenance of the safety technology. In addition to a targeted effort to reduce the illegal passing of school buses in the community, the school district will benefit from access to cloud-connected internal cameras and BusPatrol's AlertBus platform for live-stream video and emergency alerts.
The data relating to the incident and violation is sent via an encrypted LTE network to BusPatrol's secure cloud system. BusPatrol's artificial intelligence software filters all footage received from each bus before it goes to one of our safety specialists for review.
A BusPatrol safety specialist reviews the filtered footage before preparing an evidence package for use by law enforcement. The package is built in accordance with state law, complete with video footage, license plate number, make, model, driver information, GPS location, and a timestamp of the incident.
The evidence package is submitted to the enforcement entity via a secure cloud portal. The enforcement entity responsible for approving violations reviews the evidence package to determine if a violation has occurred. Only a law enforcement officer can determine if a violation has occurred and whether a citation is issued. If approved, a ticket is mailed to the vehicle's owner, along with a link to the AlertBus Driver Education & Payment Portal, where they can view video evidence of their violation. The vehicle owner makes their payment online, through the mail, or in person in the municipal jurisdiction – tickets can also be contested through the relevant jurisdiction's civil court system.
Who Are Stop-Arm Violation Tickets Issued to, and How Much Will They Cost Violators?
Stop-arm cameras identify illegal passers by license plate number. Tickets are issued to a vehicle's registered owner unless the automobile is proven stolen during the time of the offense. If someone other than the vehicle's owner was driving at the time, the owner can request a transfer of liability.
In most states, a first-time stop-arm violation carries a fine of $250. In New York state, subsequent violations within an eighteen-month period are subject to a $25 increase in penalty, up to a maximum of $300.
Data from other safety programs demonstrates that over 90% of first-time offenders do not receive a second ticket and that 95% of drivers do not contest their ticket after seeing video evidence of their violation.
When Should I Stop for a Stopped School Bus in New York State?
When a school bus stops and flashes its red lights, traffic approaching from either direction must stop before reaching the bus:
· on a two-lane road
· on multi-lane highways
· on divided highways
Watch the Albany County presentation at the Board of Education meeting on March 12, 2025, here.