Alpine School District is said to be testing a new surveillance system to catch drivers who bypass school bus stop signs.
Shaun Adams, of Alpine School District’s Transportation Department, stated that the department observed more and more vehicles not paying attention to traffic laws. A Fox13 article reported that bus drivers see dozens of people ignoring stop signs every day, putting kids in danger.
“[Even] when the stop sign is out and the red lights are flashing,” Adams said, “we have a lot of vehicles drive right through.”
Bus drivers believe distracted driving is to blame. Adams told Fox13 that people are distracted by putting on makeup, drinking or spilling coffee, and using communication devices such as cell phones and GPS. The district hopes that the new camera system mounted on the outside of the bus will deter drivers from passing the school bus when its lights are flashing. The article states that all video of violations will be turned over to the police.
According to Doug Frasier, who is with Gatekeeper Systems, the company that designed the camera system, this move is about the safety of the children and driver behavior modification. He added that the video will provide evidence, violators will get fined, and that people will become more aware— prompting a change in driving behavior.
Because of the system’s steep price tag of $4,000 per unit, officials expect to install cameras on only a handful of buses throughout the district.
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Original article by Ashton Goodell of Fox13