The School District of Philadelphia is launching a pilot program designed to deter dangerous driving and support student safety by mounting cameras to the stop arms of school buses to record any motorists who illegally pass the bus. According to Pennsylvania’s School Bus Stopping Law, motorists are required to stop at least 10 feet away from school buses either when they are behind, or approaching an intersection, where a bus has its red lights flashing and stop arm activated, and must wait until the red lights have stopped flashing and the stop arm has been withdrawn.

The National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) estimates that there are more than 45 million stop-arm violations annually in the United States, which poses a danger to students. According to Bus Patrol data, Districts have seen a decrease of up to 30 percent year-over-year in stop-arm violations.

The District has secured two vendors, Bus Patrol and Gatekeeper Systems, to mount cameras on the stop arms of 20 school buses, at no-cost to the District. When a school bus stops, cameras will automatically activate when the bus stop-arm is extended and the camera will capture the vehicle and license plate of any motorist who illegally passes the bus. Violations are then reviewed by a vendor for accuracy. While citations will not be issued during the pilot, weekly violation reports will be shared with the District.

Buses for the pilot were selected based on routes that have stops on major roadways, multi-lane highways, and busy intersections. The pilot will run through the end of the school year.