Nevada Officers Ride School Buses To Crack Down On Illegal Passing

Illegal passing incidents have been gaining attention thanks to media coverage and the combined efforts of school districts and law enforcement to crack down on offenders. Now, Nevada Highway Patrol and Clark County School District are enacting a new program to catch drives illegally passing stopped school buses in the act.

The two groups partnered last week to create the Badge on the Bus program to crack down on dangerous drivers by placing officers on district school buses in order to catch violations as they happen. They also hope to raise awareness of new regulations recently enacted in the state.

As of Oct. 1, a new law in Nevada makes it illegal for drivers to make a U-turn in active school and school crossing zones, as well as prohibiting motorists from passing stopped vehicles, including school buses, in these areas.

“Law enforcement ride on the school bus, and when drivers either violate the new regulations or pass a stopped school bus with their stop arm extended, the officer radios ahead to law enforcement who pull over the driver,” said Diana Hollander, program officer for the Office of Safe and Respectful Learning Environments at the Nevada Department of Education and the state’s director of pupil transportation.

Last week, which happened to be School Bus Safety Week, authorities gave out almost 80 tickets in a single day, with many of the drivers given citations in and around these school zones. Tickets can reach as high as $1,000.

The program is planned to run all year, but one officer said they would prefer drivers simply take more care behind the wheel.

According to the 2015 Nevada Stop Arm Survey, more than 2,431 vehicles passed a school bus with its stop arm extended and children present in a single day. According to Hollander, the majority of these cases occurred in Clark County, which encompasses the Las Vegas area.

“The Badge on the Bus is a great initiative and a valuable partnership with our law enforcement agencies,” said Hollander.