When parents put their children on the school bus in the morning, they naturally expect that their child will go to school and return home safely. No parents should have to worry that their child would not come home because of a traffi c violation involving the school bus. But in reality, concern over stop arm violations can evoke exactly that kind of fear.

Governments in the United States and Canada have made it an offence for vehicles to pass a school bus that has its Stop Arm extended and red lights fl ashing. However, stop arm violations continue to be a big problem. It has been reported by the National Highway Traffi c Safety Administration (NHTSA) that an average of 19 school children1 are killed each year while getting off the bus, very often by passing motorists who did not adhere to traffic regulations regarding the school bus stop arm. It has been reported that most accidents involving school buses occur within the 10 feet area around the bus, usually just after the children have gotten off the bus. The majority of these children are aged fi ve to seven years old.

Stop Arm violations are such regularly occurring incidents that the NHTSA wascompelled to publish a Best Practices Guide on “Reducing the Illegal Passing of School Buses” in an attempt to curb the problem.3 Earlier this year, legislators in Arkansas passed a law that strengthened penalties for stop arm violators, making it a felony negligent homicide when a person is killed.

One way to stop this recurring problem is to be able to identify stop arm violators and ensure that the courts appropriately deal with them. To identify stop arm violators, many school districts have installed “stop arm cameras”. These cameras are positioned such that they can easily and clearly capture car registration numbers as they are passing the bus. The camera may either be on the outside of the bus, or in front of the driver on the dashboard facing outwards through the windshield.

Stop Arm cameras are becoming more and more a common sight on board school buses. In 2002, the Stop Arm Camera Project was jointly developed by the Iowa Department of Transportation, the Iowa Department of Education and the Iowa Association of Pupil Transportation, allowing school districts to run pilot programs using VHS analog recorders.

In December 2005, the Central New York Transportation Directors Association met to take proactive steps to curb the illegal passing of school buses when the stop arm is extended, one of which is the use of stop arm cameras to capture illegal passers.

Seon’s flexible multi-channel solutions come in DVR and VCR packages. With the 4-channel Digital solution, one camera can act as a Stop Arm camera, while the other 3 cameras focus on the inside of the bus. Seon’s VCR Plus solution has a built-in switcher which allows 2 cameras to be installed. One of these can act as a Stop Arm camera, triggered to record only when the Stop Arm is activated.

Stop arm cameras can record vehicles as they are speeding away, clearly
capturing their registration numbers. Images from the Stop Arm camera can be used in court as evidence and bring violators to justice. It is envisaged that an increase in convictions of this type will deter other road users from doing the same in the future. When other drivers are tempted to overtake a school bus, they will be more vigilant and be alert for children who are not looking out for traffic.

View a Global TV Edmonton news segment entitled “Safety First” about stop arm violations and the steps taken by one school district to deal with the problem.