August 10th, 2026

Program has welcomed new districts and introduced “Spot the Stop”, a partnership with the University of Rochester Medicine’s Trauma Program.

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The Monroe County School Bus Safety Program issued more than 6,000 citations to motorists who illegally passed stopped school buses during the 2025-26 school year, County Executive Adam Bello announced today. In total, nearly 20,000 citations have been issued since the program’s inception in October 2023.

“Last school year, we added five new districts to our School Bus Safety Program, expanding our mission to ensure unsafe drivers are held accountable and keeping our children safe as they travel to and from school,” said County Executive Adam Bello. “In addition, we have seen a recidivism rate of less than 4%, potentially signaling that motorists who receive a citation rarely receive an additional one.”

The School Bus Safety Program equips school buses with stop-arm cameras to capture and enforce violations when motorists illegally pass stopped school buses with extended stop-arms and flashing red lights. New to the program during the 2025-26 school year were Brighton, Fairport, Pittsford, Spencerport, and West Irondequoit, joining the East Irondequoit, Greece, Hilton, Monroe #1 BOCES, and Webster school districts. The program is funded through fines collected from violators, ensuring no cost to taxpayers or school districts.

As families and school districts gear up for the return to school in September, public education around bus stop safety is at the forefront. The University of Rochester Medicine’s Trauma Program and the Monroe County Department of Public Safety launched “Spot the Stop,” a school bus safety awareness campaign that uses data from the School Bus Safety Program to improve student safety and increase driver education surrounding school buses. “Spot the Stop” educational materials will be sent to families who live in participating districts as they prepare to return to school and the bus stop.

“School bus stop-arm violations are happening almost 30 times each school day in Monroe County so this is a serious and frequent occurrence,” said Dr. Katherine Riera, a trauma surgeon at Strong Memorial Hospital. “Spot the Stop is a data-driven injury prevention project in response to the alarming number of stop-arm violations locally. We are excited to partner with the county to raise awareness and increase education surrounding school buses. A child being hit by a car getting on or off a school bus should be a ‘never event’ in Monroe County.” 

Under New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, drivers must stop for school buses with flashing red lights and an extended stop-arm, whether approaching from the front or the rear, and regardless of the type of road. Violators caught by cameras will face a $250 fine for a first offense, with escalating penalties for subsequent violations within 18 months.

All suburban school districts in the county are eligible to participate in the School Bus Safety Program. The City of Rochester and the Rochester Central School District School Board operate their own program that began in November.

For more information about the Monroe County School Bus Safety Program visit www.monroecounty.gov/school-bus-safety.