The Highway Patrol ended its “Operation Stop Arm” campaign on Friday, Oct. 21. The campaign which began on Monday, Oct. 17 was focused on promoting traffic safety around North Carolina schools, school buses and school bus stops. Troopers drove marked and unmarked patrol cars and followed more than 950 school buses across the state to remind motorists of the dangers that exist in and around school buses and school zones. Troopers issued numerous citations to motorists who failed to stop for a school bus and more than 6000 traffic violations statewide in and around schools and school zones including:
Every day in North Carolina, more than three-quarters of a million children ride the school bus to and from school. It is estimated that each school day, more than 2,000 drivers violate North Carolina’s school bus stop arm law. So, despite the end of the campaign, troopers will continue to monitor school buses and school zones.