NC cracks down on school bus stop-arm violations
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- School bus drivers statewide were asked to write down how many stop-arm violations they witnessed Wednesday. If history holds true, there will be thousands of them.
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Wake County drivers headed to their buses Wednesday with the survey sheet in their hands. One driver told ABC11 she only had one stop-arm violation on Wednesday, and that's what's shocking. She said one violation per day is a low number.
The last two years, the State Department of Public Instruction did the one-day survey. The number of violators easily topped 3,000. Despite heightened enforcement and awareness programs, the number of violations increases every year.
Even cameras installed on buses to help catch violators haven't brought the numbers down. That's frustrating to those who enforce the law.
"We have had children that have been struck across the state. In some cases, we have kids that have died," said NC Highway Patrol Lt. Jeff Gordon. "It just takes one simple minute or a few seconds out of your time to stop. That difference could be the difference between the life and death of a child."
Officials with the State Department of Public Instruction hope the numbers will defy the upward trend and go down in this year's survey.
