Arm the cameras on Buffalo school buses

Buffalo, New York (WBEN) – If a school bus camera detects you passing a Buffalo Public Schools school bus this summer, you may receive a warning in the mail. If you miss the grace period before the end of September, you could receive a $250 fine.

The City of Buffalo and Buffalo Public Schools announced the launch of their awareness campaign and more details about their partnership with BusPatrol, a company that has installed school bus stop cameras on all public school buses of Buffalo to prevent motorists from causing an accident that could occur. for not obeying flashing stop signs on school buses.

Mayor Brown says the goal is to keep children safe and condition motorists not to indulge in this type of dangerous behavior. Not just for the safety of the children, but also for themselves, for the bus staff and for the parents waiting to collect their child from school.

“Our objective is not the fine, but our objective is to change behavior. We believe that this strategy, which we have thought about for a long time collectively between the city, the police and the school district, will ensure greater safety for people. our children and that’s what it’s all about.

Buses are equipped with cameras on top of the bus, two cameras on each side, and cameras facing front and rear to show a potential violation from all angles. Artificial intelligence connected to these cameras can determine if a violation has occurred and a collection of that data will be sent for review by BusPatrol staff and then sent to the city to determine if a violation has occurred.

Justin Meyers, President and Chief Innovation Officer of BusPatrol notes that this technology is extremely effective and with human review, there is no margin for error.

“We serve more than 400 different school districts across the country in 16 states. We are seeing a precipitous drop in these types of violations since the program launched. Here in New York State, in the first three years, we’ve seen such significant declines of up to 40%, and the reason is that most people recognize that illegally passing a school bus is not acceptable and is very dangerous. From time to time, a mistake. can happen, but when you get that offense in the mail and you watch that video of yourself driving past that school bus, over 90% of the time nationwide when that happens, that person never commits. this offense.

The grace period begins July 1 and is expected to end by September. Dr. Tonja Williams notes that parents and the community will be regularly updated on the software and program on all social platforms. Violators found guilty during the grace period will be mailed a photo of their vehicle driving in front of the bus and will receive a warning. Beyond the grace period, the fine must be paid online.