DALEVILLE — A police department in Delaware County is cracking down on school bus stop arm violators.
Dash camera footage shows on Jan. 4, Daleville Police Patrolman Adam Curtis pulled over five vehicles at once who were suspected of failing to stop for the school bus on State Road 67.
Curtis told WRTV they receive a lot of complaints about stop arm violations in the area of State Road 67 in Salem Township.
“We maintain an excellent working relationship with our school bus drivers, and they communicate specific route issues to our department,” said Patrolman Curtis. “On a regular basis, I may stop one or two vehicles for passing the school bus when it’s loading or unloading, prior to this, the most at one time was four vehicles.”
On Jan. 4, Patrolman Curtis observed five vehicles pass the bus while the stop arm was activated.
The dash camera footage shows Curtis pulled over all five drivers.
“I was able to start flagging them over to the turn lane,” said Curtis. “Due to the number of cars I stopped and being alone, I had two additional officers respond to assist.”
All the drivers pulled over on the video were cited for stop arm violations, said Curtis.
“In Delaware County, our prosecutor takes a strong stance against those who violate the stop arm violations,” said Curtis. “The punishment may vary based upon driving histories and other circumstances. The judge does require a mandatory court appearance. This isn’t just a ticket you can pay.”
Daleville Police is working to protect children that are trying to get to and from school.
“We have multiple officers that change their days to make this happen,” said Curtis.
WRTV reached out to the Delaware County prosecutor for more information on these alleged stop arm violations.
"We are talking about the lives of innocent school children," said Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman. "The choice should be clear – when you see a stopped school bus – stop, do not go around it, you just might hit and kill an innocent child."
Currently, if you violate the statute it is a Class A Infraction which is punishable by a fine of $0 to $10,000. In addition, the court may suspend the person’s driving privileges for 90 days or if the person has 1 previous conviction for this offense, a 1 year driver’s license suspension.
"Personally, I think this offence should be a misdemeanor and if found guilty – the person should face jail time," said Hoffman. "There is absolutely no excuse for passing a stopped school bus."
