ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. — The Elizabethtown Police Department is reminding drivers about the importance of stopping around school buses.
In a Facebook post shared Tuesday, the department said it had received an increased number of reports of people driving past school buses with the stop arm extended.
Under Kentucky state law, drivers on two or three-lane roads are required to stop when a school bus is stopped with the stop arm activated. On a four-lane road, everyone traveling in the same direction as the bus is required to stop.
"We have zero tolerance for violators of this offense," the department said in the post.
Elizabethtown PD said anyone who is seen passing a school bus under these circumstances will be cited. According to the Kentucky legislature, violators could face fines or prison time.
"Children are our most precious resource and their safety is of the utmost importance," the post reads. "It's not just a stop sign, it's a child's life!"
In 2020, there were 129 school bus-related crashes in Kentucky, resulting in 11 injuries, according to Kentucky State Police.
A bill that would have added new rules and regulations for stop-arm cameras on Kentucky school buses was filed this session but did not pass out of the Senate.
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