School’s back in session after Labor Day, and local law enforcement is ready to catch any drivers ignoring school safety laws.
The Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee says about 50,000 vehicles illegally pass school buses while their stop arms are flashing red. However, counties like Onondaga are fighting back to keep kids safe. The fleet of 500 buses now has Tier-One technology cameras that are able to read license plates when drivers dangerously pass.
“If you violate the arm when it’s there and you go past,” Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon warned that technology is watching, “we’re gonna capture a license plate and you’re going to be given a $250 citation.”
State law allows police to ticket drivers up to $400 for a first offense, adding five points to a driver license and possibly 30 days in jail. A second or third conviction for passing a school bus within three years of that first ticket could run between $750 to $1,000 in fines and up to 180 days in jail. Data from other school districts shows a 50% reduction in illegally passed school buses once the cameras and plate readers are installed.
“Our goal is to stop and change driver behavior from these illegal passings,” said Matt Reich with Verra Mobility, the cameras’ contractor. “The technology itself activates, when the stop arms come out, it’s gonna capture that incident and then law enforcement is going to take it from there.”
The license plate reader cameras are affixed to the school buses approximately 36 inches off the ground and another near the roof of the bus. Reich said that provides many angles to see drivers illegally passing. Baldwinsville, Cicero-North Syracuse, East Syracuse Minoa, Fabius Pompey and Liverpool school districts have the same systems installed.
