Police across the state and in the Hudson Valley are cracking down on motorists who fail to stop for school buses.

Police call the initiative Operation Safe Stop, and the goal is to reduce fatalities and injuries to school children while educating motorists about the laws regarding school buses and bus stops.

Cops will be using marked and unmarked patrol cars, and they'll be riding on buses on routes where drivers are known to illegally pass a stopped school bus.

According to New York state's Traffic Safety Council, 35 students were hit by motorists passing stopped school buses in the past four years. In addition, an estimated 50,000 motor vehicles illegally pass school buses every day in New York alone.

Authorities say the rules are very simple. Drivers need to automatically stop when they see a school bus with flashing red lights or the stop sign come out of the side of the bus.

First-time offenders caught illegally passing a school bus will pay between $250 to $500 in fines and get five points on their license with the possibility of up to 30 days in jail.