On First Day Of School, Yonkers Cops Crack Down On Traffic Violations
YONKERS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- As kids headed back to school Thursday, police officers in Yonkers were cracking down to make sure drivers followed the rules of the road.
As CBS 2's Sonia Rincon reported, police had an extra presence at a busy intersection to remind drivers to watch out for kids and buses, especially when they put out their stop signs.
If you blow by one of those, it will cost you.
"A violation of passing a school bus with its red lights flashing is a serious traffic violation," said Charles Gardner of the Yonkers Police Department. "The first conviction is a minimum $250 fine. And the fines increase with each conviction, and it also is five points on your driver's license."
Some moms welcomed the extra enforcement.
"I see a lot of police presence out here, and it makes me feel good," said Stephanie Gaines.
"People don't really pay attention to the crossing guard," said Vania Smith. "So that was always my issue. But as long as they're here and my baby get on this bus safe, I'm good."
Police pulled over drivers, wrote tickets and even hauled away a car that had a registration problem.
By noon, they had issued 23 summonses -- five of them for ignoring school bus stop signs.
Last year during the school season, officials in Yonkers issued about 100 summonses for going around school bus signs. About 40 percent of them were in the first few weeks of the academic year, when drivers were first getting adjusted to the return of school buses.
According to New York state law, drivers in both directions must stop for a school bus flashing its lights and stay 20 feet back.
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