SNOW SHOE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Cameras were installed on a Bald Eagle Area School District bus after several near-collisions involving Marcellus Shale drilling trucks. The mountainous roads and sometimes foggy conditions have created a dangerous situation between truck drivers unfamiliar with the area and school bus operators.

School bus driver Donna Cramer told The Centre Daily Times that two trucks nearly collided with her bus while she was picking up students in the village of Moshannon. Cramer was stopped and had her red flashers on, but the trucks only barely stopped in time, she said. Her bus is now equipped with cameras.   

If the cameras pick up more incidents like these, the district will expand the program.

Currently, there are six companies drilling in Centre County. While these companies have been cooperative, the district officials said, most of the large trucks are owned and operated by subcontractors who are more difficult to hold accountable.