October 16 – When you see that big yellow bus in front of you on the road to get to work, it can be frustrating.
The constant stop and start and the traffic back-up certainly can make getting to work challenging.
Maybe for a hot second, you think no one would really know if you just scoot around the school bus super fast. After all, you need to get to work, right? It’s a valid reason to pass, right? You’ll be careful with the kids. It shouldn’t be a problem. That meeting’s going to start soon and you have to be there.
You can tell yourself all of that, but the reality is, you could be caught on camera passing that school bus, and none of those above-mentioned excuses are going to fly when that fine hits your mail.
Area school districts have installed automated cameras on buses for drivers who violate school bus safety laws in PA.
Pat Ryan of NewsTalk 103.7FM pointed out, “I go back to what Tucker Carlson said years ago and I continue to hope for: cameras in the classroom. You’re so worried about and you rightfully should be the school bus getting the kids on and off. But what’s happening in between the time that they’re on and off the bus is far more important. You’d think there would be a groundswell of people saying “I want to be able to see what’s happening with my teacher, her or his agenda, what kind of things are being taught in a classroom.”
Attorney Clint Barkdoll said, “I remember seeing about the school bus cameras in the news last year. It’s, I believe, a company out of Virginia that’s developed these. The Cumberland Valley School District, out of the Carlisle/Harrisburg area, huge school district, they are installing all of these cameras and one of the points they’re making is that currently if you pass a school bus, the burden or the onus is on the driver of the bus to get the license plate and the identification of the vehicle. This is assuming there was a police officer or other witness to report it.”
Violating the school bus safety laws are serious offenses. It’s a $300 fine, as well as a possible license suspension and all sorts of points on your license that will affect your insurance.
Barkdoll said, “So these cameras take the picture of the person passing the bus. One of the criticisms here is that the outside vendors are getting a piece of that action. But the argument on the school district side is hey, well this takes the burden off the driver and it makes it safer. I suspect a lot of local districts will see how this goes in Cumberland Valley, and if they report success with it, you may see other local school districts and bus company vendors get on board to install these cameras.”
