Watervliet School Bus Safety Program begins Monday

The city of Watervliet and Watervliet Public Schools partnered with BusPatrol to bring a program to address illegal passing.

WATERVLIET, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The city of Watervliet and Watervliet Public Schools partnered with BusPatrol to bring a program to address illegal passing. The program will have stop-arm photo enforcement on the school buses.

The program is focused on student safety with the cameras using artificial intelligence that will detect license plates of cars that illegally pass stopped school buses. The 30-day warning period begins Monday when warning violations will be mailed to the drivers who illegally pass.

Beginning June 19, live ticketing with monetary penalties will be issued for anyone who violates this law. The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles says the law requires drivers to stop at least 20 feet away from stopped school buses when the red lights are flashing and the stop arm is deployed. The penalty for breaking this law is a minimum $250 fine with possible points on your license and more, according to the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee.