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'Operation Stop Arm' Starts Across NC: Watch For Troopers Near School Zones

In previous years, troopers have ridden on buses and in unmarked patrol cars.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Editors's note: Attached video is from a February 2019 Stop Arm Operation by Greensboro police.

Attention drivers: Pump your brakes, especially in school zones. This week the NC State Highway Patrol (NCSP) will be aggressively enforcing stop arm violations and other traffic violations in and around school zones. The operation will run daily from 6:00 am on Monday, October 21 through 5:00 pm on Friday, October 25. 

NCSHP's Operation Stop Arm mission is to decrease violations and reduce school bus incidents involving children.

The week long campaign kicked off Monday at the NC State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. Members of the State Highway Patrol were joined by representatives from the NC Department of Public Instruction and the Wake County Public Schools. Remarks were provided by Colonel Glenn McNeill, Jr.

“The safety of our children is a constant priority for members of the State Highway Patrol, not just a topic to discuss at the beginning of each school year,” said Colonel Glenn McNeill, commander of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. “We gather today to make sure their safety is of paramount each and every day and to remind all road users that passing a stopped school bus will not be tolerated.”

Consequences

Passing a stopped school bus is a Class 1 misdemeanor. If convicted, a person will receive five driving points on their driver’s license and is subject to fines up to $500. Passing a stopped school bus is a Class I felony if the driver strikes an individual and a Class H felony should the violation result in a death.

A 2017 law gave counties the right to impose civil penalties on motorists caught on school bus cameras passing buses that are picking up or dropping off children.

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