ISP Cracking Down on Stop Arm Violators

WARRICK COUNTY -- Indiana State Police are cracking down on drivers who don’t stop for school buses in Warrick County.

“Very seldom will someone deliberately pass a school bus when they’re not supposed to. Unfortunately a lot of times it’s because someone is distracted, they’re on their smartphones or talking to other passengers inside their car. Or they’re not really clear on what the law says about when they’re required to stop so again we want to raise awareness today and make sure that everybody stops for the school buses,” Ringle said.

On top of posing a huge and potentially deadly threat to children getting on and off school buses, in Warrick County, bus stop arm violations are a hefty fine of $220.

Sgt. Ringle says it only takes one incident of looking down at your phone or driving distracted that could end in tragedy, especially with buses and kids on the roads.

“Everyday motorists don’t stop for school buses when they’re supposed to. Matter of fact, school bus drivers last April recorded and reported every single stop arm violation and in one single day over 3,000 stop arm violations. So again, we know it happens almost every single day and we want the motoring public to know the importance of stopping for those school bus stop arms,” he said.