Most of the school buses at Cook County Schools are now equipped with cameras that makes it easy to identify drivers who violate school bus safety rules. To avoid a ticket, but more importantly to keep school children safe, stop when red lights flash and the stop arm is extended.
School is back in session so drivers are once again sharing the road with school buses. The year is getting off to a good start with bus drivers, parents and children learning pick up times and routes. Cook County Schools Maintenance Director Tom Nelson and Maintenance Worker Greg Pearson paused on the busy first day of school to remind motorists to pay attention around buses. Nelson said drivers should know that most of the school buses now have video cameras to capture drivers who violate school bus safety rules.
The video cameras were installed at the end of last year and Nelson said they have been very effective in catching offenders. “We’re 3-for-3 since we installed the cameras,” he said.
In the past, a school bus driver had to try to see the make, model and license plate of a vehicle, while making sure students were safe getting on and off the bus. The cameras make it much easier.
Pearson said the driver contacts the Cook County Law Enforcement dispatcher on the radio. The dispatcher records the time and when the bus arrives back at the garage, Nelson and a Sheriff Deputy review the tape.
Motorists who pass a school bus when red lights are flashing and the stop arm is extended not only face hefty fines, they put school children at risk.
A camera on the side of the bus captures an image of the extended stop arm and the vehicle going around it. Another camera in the front windshield of the bus takes another photo of the vehicle license plate.
“You can usually see the driver,” said Nelson, “You can see if it is a male or female; wearing glasses or not. It is pretty effective.”
Sgt. Neil Dickenson of the Minnesota State Patrol reminds motorists that they must stop at least 20 feet from a school bus that is displaying red flashing lights and/or its stop arm is extended when approaching from the rear and from the opposite direction on undivided roads.
Red flashing lights on buses indicate students are either entering or exiting the bus.
A motorist who illegally passes a school bus can be charged with a misdemeanor and receive a fine of about $300, said Nelson. If children are outside of the bus at the time of the incident, it is then a gross misdemeanor and means a mandatory court appearance— where the motorist must watch the video of the infraction. At that point, the amount of the fine is up to the court to decide.
But more importantly, said Nelson, is it is not safe to pass a school bus. He and Pearson noted that bus drivers attend mandatory safety training every year. Pearson relayed some of the sad stories of children hit by vehicles they have heard from the instructors. “We don’t ever want something like that to happen here,” he said.
That is why, in addition to annual safety training, bus drivers participate in training on mandatory reporting, pre-trip preparations and ongoing evaluations. “We are required to do either bus driver evaluations or ride-alongs. You can do either; we do both. You can never do too much,” said Nelson.
Nelson added, “Our drivers have enough distractions. We want them to have all of their attention on the children. Drivers need to do their part.”
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