Oklahoma Bill Targets Illegal School Bus Passing

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Lawmakers here have approved a bill that would allow video enforcement of school bus stop-arm violations in the state.

House Bill 1926 passed in a unanimous vote by the House on Wednesday, would permit school districts to install and operate video monitoring systems or stop-arm cameras on school buses as a way to capture motorists who illegally pass stopped school buses. The video camera systems would need to produce a recorded image of the license plate of the vehicle, an identifiable image of the driver’s face, the activation of at least one of the bus’s warning devices, and the date, time, and location of the vehicle when the image was recorded. The bill would also require school districts to submit recorded images or video to law enforcement for review, and based on the data collected, offending motorists would be subject to a fine of $100.

In addition to the fine, a special assessment of $100 would be considered for each violation, of which 75% of the money would be deposited to the Cameras for School Bus Stops Revolving Fund, a fund for the State Board of Education to award districts with grants for the installation of school bus camera equipment. The remaining 25% of the funds would be credited to the law enforcement agency that reviewed the violation.

House Bill 1926 is currently in the Senate, and if passed, the new law would take effect on Nov. 1.