HAMBURG, N.Y. — It’s estimated that 50,000 vehicles pass a stopped school bus each school day in New York, according to the New York Association for Pupil Transportation. That's putting thousands of children at risk.

It's the reason Operation Safe Stop was created. The statewide education and enforcement day returns today. During the event, police officers are posted on school buses and in marked and unmarked patrol cars on bus routes that have a history of illegal passing complaints. Tickets are issued to drivers who violate the law and information on those violations is made available to state and local officials and the media.

Despite enforcement efforts, thousands of drivers still pass stopped school buses every school day. The question is why? Bus drivers say there is no answer and no reason.

On April 3, a bus driver and aide were hailed as heroes in the Syracuse area for saving a student’s life as a driver ignored the bus’s stop arm and went barreling by the bus's door side. Sadly, it is all too common. Thursday is a reality check from bus drivers. 

“Absolutely terrifying. I just ... there's not enough, there's no words," said Angela Coughlin, general manager at Fisher Bus Service.

Coughlin wasn't behind the wheel of the bus in the Syracuse area when this incident took place. But the same thing happened to her a few years ago.

“One of the children got off the bus, ran up the driveway to mom and the other one I grabbed by the handle on his backpack to stop him from going down the stairs while the car went by the door at 55 miles an hour," Coughlin recalled.

Coughlin says from there, a list of what-ifs follows.

“What if I'd been looking up in the mirror at the children behind me for that split second?" she asked. "That child wouldn't be here anymore.”

As general manager of Fisher Bus Service, Coughlin puts 90 buses on the road daily. A handful make a call to Lindsey Nyitrai, the operations manager at Fisher Bus Service. She fills out the necessary paperwork for the DMV.

“Once the DMV receives it, they will send a letter to the owner of that vehicle stating that on such and such date, they passed a [stopped] school bus and they ask them not to do it again because it's a violation,” Nyitrai said.

It's just a letter. Nyitrai says if there are no cameras, you can’t prove who was behind the wheel. Tickets are tough to give unless a driver is caught by an officer. She says a bus driver is lucky if they can catch the license plate.

“We’ve had parents end up, once the rides go off, they will follow the car that did it," Nyitrai said. "I don't suggest people do that.”

She advises people to call the police or their bus garage instead. The issue gets worse, she said, on sunny days and before spring break.

“Right before spring break, [my daughter] actually came home because she had a cross in front of the bus and the car went right by," said Brittany Smith, a trainer and driver with Fisher Bus Service.

Speaking both as a driver and a mom, Smith asks that people think about the impact their actions have on a child.

“Like what's more important, you getting to your job on time, or a kid's life?” Smith asked.

It’s also up to us, officials said, to keep kids safe and teach them the state’s universal signs.

“[Tell] the children to make eye contact, to stop and to wait for the crossing signal," Coughlin said. "And then we also teach them that if they hear the horn of the bus, they need to go back to where they came from immediately.”

Before stepping off the final step, Coughlin adds to look both ways.

A big question is: Why not mount cameras on the stop arms? For Fisher Bus, it would cost close to $1 million. Taxpayer money would be used. It isn’t an option, officials say.

Could the state help pay for cameras? The public information officer for the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles says it's a complicated process that falls on counties and municipalities.

Effective as of August 2019, the school bus camera law gave school districts and municipalities the authorization to use stop-arm cameras on school buses to hold vehicle owners responsible for their cars passing a stopped school bus. The problem is, they are in charge of footing the bill for installation and upkeep. That means it would most likely fall on the taxpayer. With school districts across the state laying off teachers due to budget constraints, money is limited.

Any fine money goes back to municipalities. Where it goes from there differs.

The first-time fine for illegally passing a school bus ranges from $250 to $400 and/or possibly 30 days in jail. Repeat offenders can face up to $1,000 in fines and up to 180 days in jail.