Schools Clamping Down On Bus Safety With Extra Cameras
This is shocking video of a student leaving his Austin Texas bus, only to be hit by a truck before he can make it to the other side of the street.
Here’s another student in the same city the very next day. both were bruised, but luckily ok.
Videos like this really call to question just how safe these students are.
“A lot of people do pass by when they have their signs out and it’s just been a lot of people getting ran over for no reason,” said Doris Mcall.
“It’s always a concern because we have to look out for children because they can’t look out for themselves,” said Larry Anderson.
But new technology is helping to catch those who break the law, putting children at risk.
As of this year, Alabama is one of 15 states that allow cameras to be installed on the extendable arms and stop signs on buses.
State school transportation coordinator Chad Carpenter says it’s not up to the state to make the decision.
“It’s each school system’s choice whether or not to do this. The cameras, if I can be honest with you, the cameras on the outside of the bus are not completely new. There were some systems that already had cameras on the buses. This new law let’s them contract with a third party, so to speak,” said Carpenter.
Montgomery Public Schools System is still working on bringing the cameras to the capital city.
But Carpenter says safety is a problem all over the state.
“We have every school system in the state record if their signs are run that day. Usually it’s a Wednesday in April. We’ve been averaging probably, I don’t have the numbers right in front of me, probably somewhere around 1,700 a day,” said Carpenter.
Citations for the city of Austin added up to about 2 million dollars last year, which were split between the camera company and the school system.
