The Manassas Park City Schools system is putting cameras on their school bus stop arms.
Similar to the program implement by Manassas City Public Schools, the cameras are being placed on the stop arms as a way to reduce the number of vehicles passing school arms while they are stopped, letting students exit the bus.
The school system currently has 35 buses that transport 3,000 students each day.
According to a release, the school system is working with American Traffic Solutions (ATS), that will be using their CrossingGuard camera technology on the buses.
“The CrossingGuard® school bus stop arm safety solution mounts cameras and sensors on the side of the school bus. When the stop arm is deployed, the sensors automatically detect a vehicle illegally passing the stop arm in either direction. The system then captures video of the violation including the vehicle’s license plate,” stated a release.
When a car illegally passes a stopped school bus, the Manassas Park Police Department will review the footage, issuing a citation for the offense, according to a release.
In Virginia, a stop-arm violation leads to a $250 fine.
“Our main goal is to keep our students safe. These cameras are the safety solution we need to reduce the number of these types of violations to protect our students,” stated Manassas Park City Schools Deputy Superintendent Eric Neff in a release.
The initial funding to install the cameras is being provided by ATS, and once the equipment is installed, the program will be funded solely by the funds generated from the citations for drivers illegally passing the buses, stated a release.
