Camillus police, schools crack down on drivers passing stopped buses

Passing a stopped school bus in Camillus is not a harmless mistake. It is a split-second decision that can put children in the path of a moving car, and bus drivers say they are seeing it too often.

That is why the Camillus Police Department and West Genesee School District have stepped up enforcement and education, focusing on traffic hotspots, added monitoring and driver behavior before someone gets hurt. Bus driver Mark Letizia said the problem feels alarming because it happens so frequently. Police Chief Michael Schreyer said the department and district worked together ahead of the announcement to identify trouble spots inside the West Genesee district.

Schreyer said the violation is ongoing and preventable, and urged drivers to stay off phones, food and coffee while behind the wheel. The point, officials said, is not simply to write tickets. It is to make drivers think twice any time a bus has its red lights flashing and stop arm out.

The scale of the problem helps explain the push. The New York Department of Motor Vehicles says about 50,000 motorists pass stopped school buses statewide each school day. In a 2024 one-day survey, 892 participating school bus drivers reported almost 2,000 illegal passes.

West Genesee marked its Operation Safe Stop event on April 17, 2026, with the transportation department, the Onondaga County Traffic Safety Advisor Board and Camillus police taking part. The statewide effort is coordinated through the New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee and is designed to identify hotspots and assign extra patrols. West Genesee said the goal is to educate motorists that passing a stopped bus while children are loading or unloading is dangerous and illegal.

The legal consequences are clear. New York’s stop-arm camera law, enacted in 2019, allows cameras to document violations. State guidance lists a $250 fine for a first offense, $275 for a second violation within 18 months and $300 for a third within 18 months. Lawmakers have also proposed tougher penalties, including a $1,000 flat fine and possible jail or license consequences.

West Genesee assistant transportation director Shelley Lamas said, “Every single day, our drivers transport what matters most: our students.” In Camillus, that message is now backed by more patrols, more attention to known problem areas and a sharper warning to drivers that a bus stop is not a place to take chances.