Bucks County, Pa. school buses monitoring cars violating traffic laws

🚍 School buses in the Central Bucks School District now have video cameras

🚍The cameras can detect if a vehicle  passes the bus while the red lights are on

🚍 Local police will review the footage and determine if a violation occurred

A Bucks County school district is using school bus cameras to ticket drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses.

Buses transporting Central Bucks School District students are equipped with cameras that will detect vehicles passing school buses while a bus stop sign is out and its red lights are on.

Warrington police said images captured by buses within the township will be sent to the department for review to determine if a violation occurred. Violators will be notified by mail and fined $300. The fine will be divided between the school district, municipality and the state.

It's not clear how many police departments in the Central Bucks school district are participating in the program.

Drivers should stop at least 10 feet from the bus, according to state law.

The new program is part of a partnership by Central Bucks with the safety technology company BusPatrol.

What do I do when I see a stopped school bus in Pennsylvania? As per PA Vehicle Code § 3345:

• The driver of a vehicle meeting or overtaking any school bus stopped on a highway or trafficway shall stop at least ten feet before reaching the school bus when the red signal lights on the school bus are flashing and the side stop signal arms are activated.
• The driver shall not proceed until the flashing red signal lights are no longer actuated.
• In no event shall a driver of a vehicle resume motion of the vehicle until the school children who may have alighted from the school bus have reached a place of safety.
• The driver of a vehicle approaching an intersection at which a school bus is stopped shall stop his vehicle at that intersection until the flashing red signal lights are no longer actuated.
• The driver of a vehicle upon a highway or trafficway with separate roadways need not stop upon meeting or passing a school bus with actuated red signal lights which is on a different roadway.

New Jersey's legislature is considering a bill that would create a similar program. The fine would be $250 for the first offense. with no points.

Critics of the measure suggest the proposal won't improve safety, but instead just result in unnecessary summonses.

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