Oklahoma Governor Signs Bill Allowing Stop-Arm Cameras Into Law

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law on Thursday that will allow cameras on school buses as a way to catch stop-arm runners and charge them a fine.

As SBF previously reported, House Bill 1926 lets school districts install cameras on stop arms to record evidence of motorists illegally passing school buses. The video camera systems are required to produce an image of a car’s license plate and an identifiable image of the face of a motorist who drives past a school bus that is loading or unloading students and has its red lights flashing.

After the school district reviews the image or video, they can submit it to law enforcement, which will determine whether there is enough evidence to identify the vehicle and motorist, and if there is, submit it to the district attorney’s office for prosecution.

A motorist who is found to have illegally passed a stopped school bus will be charged a $100 fine as well as a $100 assessment. Three-quarters of that assessment will be deposited into the Cameras for School Bus Stops Revolving Fund, which the State Board of Education will award as grants to school districts to help them purchase and install stop-arm cameras.

The new law goes into effect on Nov. 1, 2019.

Rep. Dell Kerbs, one of the bill’s sponsors, told KTUL that it gives law enforcement officers “the teeth they need to go after drivers who endanger our state’s children.”

Two other states — Idaho and West Virginia — also recently enacted laws that crack down on stop-arm runners by increasing fines, SBF previously reported.