Northwestern Lehigh School District will be participating in the 16th annual Operation Safe Stop, Oct. 24, as part of National School Bus Safety Week, Oct. 22-26.

Operation Safe Stop is a public awareness and proactive enforcement effort to educate the motoring public that passing a stopped school bus, when children are loading or unloading, is both dangerous and illegal.

Each year, through Operation Safe Stop, law enforcement agencies, school transportation providers, pupil transportation associations and PennDOT combine their efforts to raise public awareness about the potential consequences and reduce the occurrence of illegal school bus passes.

Pennsylvania's School Bus Stopping Law requires motorists to stop at least 10 feet away from school buses with their red lights flashing and stop arm extended.

Motorists must stop when they are behind the bus, meeting the bus or approaching an intersection where a bus is stopped.

Motorists following or traveling alongside a school bus must also stop until the red lights have stopped flashing, the stop arm is withdrawn, and all children have reached safety.

If physical barriers such as grassy medians, guide rails or concrete median barriers separate oncoming traffic from the bus, motorists in the opposing lanes may proceed without stopping.

The penalties if convicted of violating Pennsylvania´s School Bus Stopping Law include: a $250 fine; five points on one's driving record and a 60-day license suspension

According to Robert R. Kripplebauer, NWL director of operations, ss part of their routes, on a daily basis, Northwestern Lehigh bus drivers record and report illegal passes and violations to the Pennsylvania State Police.

Operation Safe Stop is another way NWL drivers, in collaboration with the state police, will be on the look out for drivers who commit violations when children are loading or unloading.