Numbers are in from NCHP's Operation Stop Arm
By John Joyce
Published in News on October 29, 2015 1:46 PM
The N.C. State Highway Patrol school zone traffic safety campaign, "Operation Stop Arm," ended Friday after thousands of citations were issued.
A statewide total of 10,685 traffic and criminal violations were issued between Oct. 19 and Oct. 23, according to a N.C. Department of Public Safety press release.
The campaign was designed to crack down on speeders and motorists who pass stopped school buses.
Locally, troopers in Wayne County handed out five such citations, as well as one DWI, two driving while license revoked, one no operator's license, seven other traffic citations and two criminal violations.
Statewide numbers were substantially higher.
Seatbelt violations totaled 1,098, child safety seat violations reached 119 and troopers recorded 5,184 speeding violations.
An average of 24 children are struck and killed annually, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Association. A third of the deaths are a result of other motorists' failure to stop for school buses. The N.C. State Highway Patrol estimates that more than 3,000 N.C. motorists a day fail to stop for school buses stopped with their lights flashing and stop arm extended.
In North Carolina, passing a stopped school bus is considered a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by a minimum fine of $500 and 5 points added to the drivers' license. Should the driver strike an individual, the charge is upgraded to a Class F felony for which the fine will be upgraded to a minimum of $1,250.
Should a driver kill a pedestrian after passing a stopped school bus, the criminal charge would be filed as a Class I felony carrying a minimum fine of $2,500.