Seymour police taking part in crackdown efforts around school buses

Seymour police are taking part in a statewide effort to cack down on drivers who don’t stop for school buses with their stop arms extended.

According to the department, it is joining with more than 200 agencies around thr state in the Stop Arm Violation Enforcement campaign, or SAVE. The department will be taking part in overtime patrols in the mornings and afternoons, looking for offenders.

The campaign is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through grants administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

According to police, stop arm violations are mostly caused by drivers who are not paying attention, or who are speeding. A one-day survey by police and school bus drivers in April counted more than 2,000 stop arm violations in Indiana.

When the overhead lights on a school bus turn yellow, you should slow down and prepare to stop. Once the lights turn red and the stop arm extends, you are required to stop unless you are on a highway divided by a physical barrier such as a grassy median or wall. However even then, drivers going the same direction must stop.