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Hatboro Police to participate in PennDOT’s statewide annual Operation Safe Stop school bus safety initiative

Hatboro Police to participate in PennDOT’s statewide annual Operation Safe Stop school bus safety initiative. 

Operation Safe Stop is a proactive approach to educate the motoring public that passing a stopped school bus, when children are loading or unloading, is both dangerous and illegal. Law enforcement agencies, school transportation providers, pupil transportation associations, and PennDOT have combined their efforts to raise public awareness about the potential consequences of these traffic violations and reduce the occurrence of illegal school bus passes. Over the past 25 years, PennDOT, along with law enforcement agencies and pupil transportation associations, have worked together to conduct Operation Safe Stop. On Wednesday, October 19, 2022, the 26th Annual Operation Safe Stop will take place.  Police officers will focus enforcement efforts on motorists violating Pennsylvania law requiring stops when approaching school buses picking up or discharging students.

PA Vehicle Code Section 3345 requires the following:

  • When you meet a stopped school bus with red signal lights flashing and stop arm extended, you MUST STOP.
  • When you approach an intersection where a school bus is stopped with red signal lights flashing and stop arm extended, you MUST STOP, whether you are on the same street or the cross street.
  • You MUST STOP at least 10 feet away from the school bus.
  • Drivers do not have to stop on a highway with clearly defined dividing sections or physical barriers providing separate roadways. This only applies when the school bus is on the opposite side of the road.
  • You MUST WAIT until the red lights have stopped flashing and the stop arm has been withdrawn before moving.
  •  DO NOT MOVE until all the children have reached a  place of safety. 

If you are convicted of violating Pennsylvania’s School Bus Stopping Law, you ware subject to all of the following penalties:
• 60-Day Driver’s License Suspension • Five points on your driving record • $250 Fine

Please help us keep our children safe.  Pay close attention when school buses are on the road and always drive safely!