Plum equipping school buses with cameras to catch drivers passing illegally

Electronic witnesses could catch drivers illegally passing stopped school buses in Plum.

The Plum School District has equipped about one-third of its vehicles with external cameras and is working toward having cameras on all of them, according to Assistant Superintendent Ashley Boyers.

The district placed multiple cameras on 23 buses in its 60-vehicle fleet in late February and early March.

Grant money was used to pay the roughly $105,000 to equip the first buses, Boyers said. Finishing the remainder of the fleet is expected to cost about $212,000.

“We will continue to pursue grants to offset the cost,” Boyers said. “We currently have a grant that we applied for that will cover the cost if awarded. If we are not awarded the grant, we will allocate funds annually to finish the project over a period of time.”

The buses currently equipped feature five cameras on their exteriors — one each at the front and rear; one on the right side over the entry door; and two in one housing on the left side, one facing forward and the other back.

Depending on their length, the buses also have three or four cameras down one side in the interior to monitor student behavior.

Under the state’s school bus stopping law, drivers must stop at least 10 feet away from school buses that have their red lights flashing and stop arm activated. They must stop when they are behind a bus, meeting the bus or approaching an intersection where a bus is stopped.

Drivers following or traveling alongside a school bus also must stop until the red lights have stopped flashing, the stop arm is withdrawn and all children have reached safety.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, guardrails or concrete median barriers separate oncoming traffic from the bus, drivers in the opposing lanes may proceed without stopping.

When stopped by police, violators can be fined, receive points on their driving record and have their license suspended. With automated enforcement, there is only a fine with no points or insurance ratings.

Plum has not yet used bus camera footage as evidence in a case, said Taye Coles, director of district transportation.

“I have not had a bus (driver) with these cameras report to me or the police department that they have had a violation occur,” Coles said.

Since he started with the district in November, Coles said bus drivers have reported four incidents to him of vehicles passing stopped Plum school buses. There was not enough evidence in any of those cases for charges to be filed.

Nonetheless, Coles likes having the cameras on the buses.

“I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure these kids are safe,” he said.

Plum’s borough police would issue citations, said Detective Joe Little, the department’s public information officer.

“We are excited that the school district has taken these steps and look forward to helping them provide for the safety of our students,” Little said.