Fall 2009
Bus drivers who wish they could double as police officers to catch drivers who illegally pass their school bus now have a little help.

Durham School Services has teamed up with a Providence, Rhode Island, company to nab drivers who don’t stop when a school bus is loading or unloading children.

As part of a pilot program, four Durham buses in Johnston (just west of Providence) have been equipped with seven surveillance cameras. Each camera transmits live images to the headquarters of Smart Bus Live. There, Smart Bus Live employees monitor the feed and send images of the violations to the local police department.

John Brown, customer service manager at the Johnston facility, says the cameras put his bus drivers at ease. “They can just focus on what they do best—drive the kids to school,” he said.

Smart Bus Live is the first company in the United States to launch a live school bus violation monitoring system. Since the program was established in late 2008, the number of citations issued has soared.

The company’s president, Al Cardi, calls the violations “a national epidemic” and hopes other school districts will consider stepping up their efforts to catch unlawful drivers. “It only takes one driver who violates the law to seriously harm a child,” he said.

Last year, Rhode Island’s General Assembly passed a law allowing surveillance cameras on buses as a way to catch drivers who violate the law.

According to the National Association for Pupil Transportation, most accidents involving a school bus happen outside of the bus. Laws require drivers to stop for a school bus when the stop arm is extended and the red lights are flashing.