As part of the Garden City Police Department’s traffic safety program, a school bus safety checkpoint was conducted on Cambridge Avenue on September 22. The check point was conducted outside the Waldorf School. During the checkpoint, officers inspected the equipment of each bus as well as the driving status of each driver. The goal of the checkpoint was to insure that the school buses complied with all safety regulations as required by law. Garden City Police Commissioner Ernest Cipullo states “Bus safety checkpoints are conducted with the children’s safety in mind.” during the checkpoint, Garden City Police officers inspected 20 school buses. There were 3 minor equipment violations cited but all in all, the school buses appeared to be compliant with safety regulations. The school buses inspected were from private school bus companies as well as from public school districts including Garden City. Commissioner Cipullo praised the Waldorf School for their cooperation during this event in particular, Denise Cochi, the School’s Director of Facilities. Commissioner Cipullo adds “To help ensure the safety of students who travel daily on school buses, random school bus check points will continue throughout the school year.”

In addition to the school bus safety checkpoint, Officers of the Garden City Police Practical Division were assigned to monitor aggressive driving violations around various school bus stop locations as well as area schools. A total of 34 traffic tickets were issued during this detail including 20 for speed violations and 2 for motorists passing stopped school buses that were picking up children.