Stop arm tickets funding new safety programs in Albany County

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- As students across the Capital Region prepare to head back to class, Albany County leaders are taking new actions to boost student safety.

Officials announced they will reimburse eligible students for taking defensive driving courses, establish a new youth violence prevention program, and pay for a school resource officer at Berne-Knox-Westerlo schools. The programs are funded by the tickets collected from the stop arm camera initiative, which holds drivers accountable for illegally passing stopped school buses.

"I think we can all agree that the most dangerous thing someone can do is drive recklessly around children," Bethlehem Town Supervisor David VanLuven said. "Children are unpredictable, and it's on us to keep them safe."

Officials said the stop-arm program as well as other education and awareness initiatives have helped decrease school bus incidents in districts like Bethlehem. According to the school district, in June of 2023, 185 tickets were issued. This June, that number was down to 59.