School officials, community leaders and law enforcement officials recently came together at Pulaski Academy and Central School’s transportation building to address a pressing safety issue: the illegal passing of stopped school buses.

On Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 10:30 a.m., the Pulaski Central School District, in partnership with local law enforcement and traffic safety officials, launched an initiative aimed at educating the public on the dangers of illegally passing school buses and increasing enforcement efforts.

New York State law, specifically Section 1174 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, requires all motorists to stop when approaching a school bus that has its red lights flashing and stop arm extended. Despite this, data indicates that approximately 50,000 motorists violate this law daily, endangering the lives of children. Past incidents have resulted in children being struck and killed by drivers who failed to stop.

For years, local officials have participated in Operation Safe Stop, a statewide initiative in collaboration with the New York State Police, the Department of Motor Vehicles, county sheriffs, and local police departments. While this effort has helped raise awareness, violations persist. To reinforce these efforts, the Pulaski School District hosted the locally operated “Operation Safe Stop Press Conference” on Thursday, April 24, 2025, at the Pulaski Transportation Department.

The district would like to thank everyone who made this event possible, including the Central NY Association for Pupil Transportation, Pupil Transportation Safety Institute, the NYS Troopers, Pulaski Police Department, Oswego County Sheriffs, NYS Forest Rangers, Pulaski Mayor Jan Tighe, Oswego County Legislator Ed. Gilson, Assembly Minority Speaker Will Barclay, Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast, who donated beverages, Leonard Bus Company, who donated fruit and water, Mathews Buses Inc., who provided shirts for Student Government members, New York Bus Sales Inc., who provided lunch, the Pulaski Student Government, and Two Broke Moms, a local business who provided shirts and bags at a discounted rate.

The district would also like to thank the following individuals, who spoke at the Safe Stop event; Sean Brown, President of CNYAPT Chapter and Director of Transportation for the Liverpool Central School District, Jonathan Bently, CEO of Pupil Transportation Safety Institute (PTSI), Taylor McLaughlin, Traffic Safety Coordinator for Oswego County, and Melissa Goodsell, head bus driver at Pulaski.