New footage and data released by Pennsylvania school districts today show thousands of motorists illegally passed stopped school buses since the start of this school year. The footage was captured through BusPatrol School Bus Safety Programs across the state and shines a light on the reckless driving behavior that put children at risk.
Several dangerous violations captured on camera across Pennsylvania can be found here.
Since the start of the Pennsylvania school year from August through November, 1,000 school buses equipped with AI-powered stop-arm cameras captured almost 8,000 incidents of illegal passes, equal to eight violations per bus. The first full week of school in September was the most dangerous, with some communities seeing more than one violation per bus per day.
Last month, a Pennsylvania high school student was hit and killed by a passing vehicle while attempting to board her school bus in York County.
Jean Souliere, CEO & Founder of BusPatrol, said: “From Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, every child has a right to get on and off a school bus safely. This Report Card should be a wake-up call to every city in Pennsylvania to enact their own school bus safety program to stop this reckless driving behavior that endangers young children.”
BusPatrol has partnered with 20 school districts across the state, including five in the Greater Philadelphia region. In addition, eight school districts across Pennsylvania that have partnered with BusPatrol are scheduled to launch photo enforcement safety programs in the beginning of 2023.
The BusPatrol school bus safety program is available at zero cost to school districts and taxpayers. BusPatrol covers the cost of equipment, installation, and maintenance of stop-arm cameras. In addition, the company utilizes a full-fleet deployment model to ensure coverage of every school bus within a jurisdiction.
The school bus program is proven to reduce the rate of school bus illegal passings by up to 30% Year-over-Year in some communities, according to BusPatrol program data.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, motorists must stop at least 10 feet away from school buses that have their red lights flashing and stop-arm extended. The penalty for a first-time violation is $300.