COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has signed legislation that authorizes stop-arm cameras on school buses.

Under the new law, school buses in South Carolina can be equipped with digital video recording devices to document vehicles passing illegally on either side. The legislation also allows images from the stop-arm cameras to be used as evidence in citing offenders.

As previously reported, pupil transportation officials in South Carolina supported the bill, S.718. It tied in with the S.A.V.E. (Stop-Arm Violation Education Enforcement) campaign, which was created by David Poag and several of his colleagues.

Poag got in contact with Sen. Thomas Alexander, who introduced S.718 in May of last year.

The bill was recently added to H.5014 as an amendment, which Haley signed into law on Monday. It went into effect immediately.

"We firmly believe the use of video surveillance in enforcement efforts will ultimately make motorists think twice before passing a stopped school bus, therefore decreasing the amount of stop-arm violations," Poag said. "For those motorists who don't think twice, they'll have to think about how they're going to pay the price. Hopefully South Carolina school districts and law enforcement can work together to enforce this bill."

Sen. Alexander added, "This is simply about the safety and protection of our most precious resource, our schoolchildren. ... If adding cameras to the buses will help us prevent one accident, it will be worth it.”