New stop arm cameras installed in school buses

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

A new state grant will help to keep Henning School students safe both on and off the bus.

Henning School recently received a state grant from the Office of Traffic Safety to purchase cameras to ensure all 10 buses have cameras inside the bus, as well as near the stop arm. The grant was for $22,950 and was one of 42 grants awarded to both school districts and bus companies across the state. 

While some of the school district had cameras in the past, the stop arm cameras will be new to Henning School. The cameras will be able to take a picture of vehicles who do not properly stop for a bus when it is picking up or dropping off children from school. 

Henning School Superintendent Melissa Sparks said the school district has received about half a dozen complaints from people who have not stopped for a bus already this year. That includes vehicles who have come close to hitting a child on the highway.

“We have had complaints of people driving through stop arms. It’s dangerous,” she said.

The new cameras near the stop sign will allow the bus driver to take a picture of a license plate of a vehicle who passes a bus when the stop sign is out and the lights are flashing. The hope is to not only discourage motorists from doing so, but also increase safety for the students getting on and off the bus.

“It’s an effective way for enforcing the law and finding the violators,” said Sparks.

A study last year found that in one day over 1,000 stop arm and driving violations were reported by bus drivers from across the state. State law requires motorists to come to a complete stop in both directions when a bus stop arm is out and the lights are flashing. Violators could be subject to a $500 fine.