APS Partners with American Traffic Solutions to Address School Bus Stop Arm Running

Arlington Public Schools announced this week the start of its CrossingGuard® School Bus Stop Arm Safety Camera Program. Starting this week, cameras will capture images of vehicles that fail to stop for an extended school bus stop arm. Arlington County now becomes one of the first communities in Virginia to approve the use of exterior school bus cameras.

Falls Church began the practice in 2013.

“Our main goal is to keep our students safe,” said Dave McCrae, director of Transportation for Arlington County. “These cameras are the safety solution we need to protect our students and to reduce the number of these types of violations.”

During the first two months of the program (July 8-Sept. 7) a warning notice will be issued to the vehicle’s owner. The warning period is scheduled during summer school and live notices will start being issued on Tuesday, Sept. 8 when the school year begins.

“The warning period will give our residents an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the public safety goals of the program before the actual citations begin,” said APS Security Coordinator Kevin Reardon. “The goal of this public safety program is to stop drivers from disobeying the stop arm, ensuring our students get to and from school safely.”

According to the latest survey by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS), 1,828 vehicles illegally passed stopped school buses in Virginia in a single day in 2014. Over a typical 180-day school year, this one-day count could result in nearly 330,000 vehicles illegally passing school buses that are stopped to let children on or off the bus.

The CrossingGuard® school bus 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 or captures video of the violation including the vehicle’s license plate. The video is then reviewed by the Arlington County Police Department for approval prior to a citation being issued. In Virginia, the penalty for a stop-arm violation will warrant the vehicle’s owner a civil penalty of $250. Arlington is the second community in Virginia and the largest school division to approve the use of exterior school bus cameras.

“We are proud to partner with Arlington Public Schools to provide a traffic enforcement tool that we know improves traffic safety for residents and changes driver behavior,” said David Roberts, American Traffic Solutions president and CEO. “We currently partner with more than 250 communities across North America that use our technology. We’re confident that Arlington will be a safer place to live and drive.”

APS operates 165 buses that transport about 10,000 students to and from school each week. “Our goal is to educate drivers and stop the illegal passing of school buses,” said M. Jay Farr, Chief of Police for Arlington County. “Our number one priority is to protect our citizens. We are proud to have this additional tool to help keep our children safe.”An FAQ about the program and Virginia traffic laws pertaining to school bus stop arms is available on the APS website at www.apsva.us/stoparmcameras.

CrossingGuard® is a completely automated, turnkey system that allows school bus drivers to focus on what is most important – the safety of their passengers. To date, nationwide, less than one percent of the drivers who have received a school bus stop-arm violation from a CrossingGuard® camera have received a second violation, indicating a positive change in driver behavior. Over the past year, school bus stop arm violations have been reduced by 33 percent nationwide.

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