Georgia district hopes to install license-plate capturing cameras to fine drivers passing school buses

A Georgia school district is looking to install stop-arm cameras on school buses to dissuade drivers from illegally passing — a move that warrants a $1,000 fine in the state.

DeKalb County Schools is looking to find a vendor to add cameras to over 1,000 school buses in the district. The buses already have cameras inside, but the stop-arm cameras would show what’s happening outside, CBS Atlanta reported.

“The goal of DeKalb County School District is to ensure we’re protecting 100 percent of our students 100 percent of the time by providing safe and reliable consistent transportation to and from school each and every day,” Director of Student Transportation Bernando Brown said.

The district, which transports about 45,000 students, says it plans to get cameras with multi-angle video, license plate recognition, GPS tagging and automatic activation. Data collected with the cameras would automatically be sent to law enforcement.

“The camera will actually be mounted right on the side of our bus,” Brown said. “Directly up under our stop arm. As long as no one passes the bus, there’s nothing to worry about.”

However, cars that pass buses will be tracked by the camera the entire time, Brown said.

A survey from the Governor’s Highway Safety Association found that 46 percent of children riding the school bus have had a close call with a dangerous driver.

The data also found that 53 percent of parents believe dangerous driving continues because motorists think they won’t get caught.

Georgia officials estimate that drivers in the state illegally pass school buses over 9,000 times a day.

“It’s pretty frequent,” Brown told the outlet. “We have certain areas in DeKalb County where it’s almost every time a bus stops, you’re going to see it.”

In Georgia, the fine for passing a school bus starts at $1,000.

The district says it hopes to install the cameras no later than January.