COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Law enforcement agencies across Michigan are ramping up targeted traffic patrols next week part of “Operation Safe Stop,” a statewide initiative aimed at curbing the dangerous and illegal passing of stopped school buses.
Executed in conjunction with National School Bus Safety Week, the annual public education and enforcement campaign pairs local police departments and county sheriff’s offices with area school districts to monitor bus routes and student drop-off zones.
Police are sending a strict, zero-tolerance message to motorists: failing to stop at least 20 feet away from a school bus with its overhead red lights flashing and stop-arm extended will result in immediate citation.
In Branch County, local authorities will be participating in the statewide push to protect rural school routes following several near-miss incidents reported across Michigan.
Under Michigan law, drivers who illegally pass a stopped school bus face a civil infraction carrying a fine of up to $500.
The legal and financial penalties rise sharply if an erratic driver causes harm; a violation resulting in injury triggers a misdemeanor charge with up to a $1,000 fine and a year in jail, while any incident causing a student fatality escalates to a felony punishable by up to $7,500 in fines and 15 years in prison.
Local school and police officials urge Branch County residents to remain highly vigilant during morning and afternoon commute hours to ensure all students make it to and from school safely.
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