Georgia District Sees Drop in Illegal School Bus Passing Incidents

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. — A school district here has seen tickets issued for illegal school bus passing drop significantly in the last two years, Cartersville Patch reports.

Since 2012, Bartow County School System has used school bus stop-arm cameras to catch motorists running stop arms and send images of potential violations to law enforcement, according to the news source. During that time, 2,218 tickets with a $300 fine have been issued for illegally passing a school bus. Last school year, 743 tickets were issued, which is a 13% reduction over the previous school year, Cartersville Patch reports.

Bartow County partnered with Redflex Traffic Systems to operate its Redflex Student Guardian camera system, which is installed on the front and rear driver’s side of the bus, and monitors traffic while the stop arm and warning lights are displayed, according to the news source. There are no upfront costs to the district or the county for the program; it is completely funded by fines for violations.

Nationwide, a survey spearheaded by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) shows that in one day, more than 96,000 school bus drivers reported a total of 74,421 vehicles had passed their buses illegally. NASDPTS officials said that this sample reflects more than 13 million violations in a 180-day school year.