U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, D-New York and Senate minority leader, wants the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to quickly release its study of stop light cameras on school buses and establish federal funding opportunities to pay for cameras to be installed on buses.

Across New York, roughly 2.3 million children ride the school bus each and every day; meanwhile, more than 50,000 New York vehicles illegally pass school buses, with their stop signs extended, illuminated and clearly marked, on the average day. In May, New York state launched a one-day law enforcement initiative, “Operation Safe Stop Education and Enforcement Day,” which resulted in more than 600 tickets for passing stopped school buses.

Schumer said the traffic crimes often go unpunished with perpetrators escaping. Although many states, including New York, have begun to establish programs mandating the installation of cameras on school bus stop signs, federal rules lag behind. Schumer said even though the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating the issue and worthiness of a federal requirement in 2015 and was set to issue a report on it by early 2018, it has not yet released any data or recommendations. Schumer urged the organization to expedite the release of its study, and if found necessary, implement new safety guidelines for cameras on school bus stop signs and establish federal funding opportunities for installation.

“There is absolutely nothing more important than protecting our Upstate children when they travel by bus to and from school. And-alarmingly-right now, an average of 50,000 drivers a day throughout New York don’t obey the simple and essential traffic rule of stopping when a school bus has its stop sign extended, putting our kids squarely in harm’s way,” Schumer said. “Worse still, for years, the federal government has slow-walked the release of critical data and a report on the effectiveness of installing cameras on school bus stop signs as a measure of enforcing traffic laws and deterring perpetrators, essentially kneecapping safety improvement efforts. So my message to the feds is simple: it’s time to slow down cars and speed up the release of this potentially life-saving report, and if deemed necessary, change safety standards to require the installation of these cameras on all new school buses.”