Angola, IN. — The Tri-County Traffic Safety Partnership will be working to safeguard students as they get on and off the bus this fall. Over the next couple of months, officers will be positioned along bus stops and routes looking for stop-arm violations and motorists driving dangerously.

The overtime patrols are part of the state’s Stop Arm Violation Enforcement (SAVE) program, which was developed by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute last year, funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. As part of the effort, officers will work with local school corporations and bus drivers to identify problem areas where the highest number of violations occur.

“We take these violations very seriously and personally, as they jeopardize the safety of every child on that bus,” said Matt Kling, Angola Police Department. “Pay attention to the road, and if you see a bus with flashing yellow lights, that means slow down and get ready to stop—not go faster. As drivers, we’re all responsible for school bus safety.”

In 2019, thousands of bus drivers in Indiana participated in an annual survey and reported more than 2,500 stop-arm violations in a single day. Taking that one-day total as an average, that means an estimated 450,000 violations could have occurred during the 2019 school year.

In Indiana, it’s against the law for motorists to pass a bus that’s stopped and has its red lights flashing and stop-arm extended. This applies to all roads, with one exception. On multi-lane roads divided by a physical barrier or unpaved median, vehicles traveling the opposite direction of the bus may proceed with due caution.