Peabody School Bus Stop Safety Data Shows Rampant Driver Violations

PEABODY, MA — Peabody officials and school safety advocates on Monday renewed calls for the passage of state legislation allowing for citations to be written based on video evidence against drivers who do not stop for school buses picking up or discharging students.

With the release of data from a BusPatrol camera pilot program that the company said recorded 3,412 vehicles failing to stop for 10 camera-equipped buses that were stopped for students between Sept. 5 and May 9, S.T.O.P the Operator Passing founder Maria Scheri told Patch that concerned parents across the state have to "speak up to hold drivers accountable."

"Please contact your district leaders," Scheri told Patch, "your policymakers and tell them you support the use of technology and better enforcement of the existing no-passing law."

Currently, police are only allowed to cite drivers if there is visual evidence of a violation. The proposed law would allow camera footage similar to that being collected on the stop-arms of buses through BusPatrol to be used to issue tickets. Camera use for ticketing is allowed in 27 states but the proposal in Massachusetts has languished at the State House for the better part of a decade.

"School bus passing violations are happening in every community across the state," Scheri said. "There has to be more support and activity from key stakeholders — including parents, community and youth leaders and pupil transportation professionals.

"The data the cameras are collecting have been a useful tool for Peabody police as they can use the information to identify the high-risk areas, the problematic streets and use their resources accordingly to enforce the law."

The Peabody School Committee voted to implement the pilot program last spring after multiple incidents early last school year when students were injured when drivers failed to stop for buses. Mayor Ted Bettencourt also formed the School Safety Task Force, of which Scheri is the co-chair.

BusPatrol said the Peabody data gathered over nine months equated to 2.3 illegal passes per day on for those 10 buses and that extrapolated over the whole 30-bus fleet would equal more than 10,000 violations over the course of the school year.

BusPatrol said those rates are among the highest it has recorded nationwide and was at its worst in Peabody during the first month of the school year.

"Stop means stop," Scheri said. "It could save a life."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)