Eagleville, Pennsylvania, Aug. 17, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- School districts in Greater Philadelphia today urged motorists to stop for school buses this back to school at a safety event with local law enforcement, government officials, and BusPatrol.
Methacton, Spring-Ford Area, Phoenixville Area, and Rose Tree Media school districts have each partnered with BusPatrol to launch safety initiatives to make roads safer for students.
Every day in Pennsylvania, hundreds of motorists fail to stop for school buses and put the lives of children at risk. It is estimated that each school bus is illegally passed more than two times a day, and last year's Operation Safe Stop captured 252 stop-arm violations – up from 120 reported the previous year.
“The safety of our students is our primary concern,” said Dr. Alan Fegley, Superintendent of the Phoenixville Area School District. He continued, “The addition of these stop-arm cameras means we have further extended our safety net from the student’s doorstep to ours.”
Dr. DiMarino-Linnen, Superintendent of the Rose Tree Media School District, added, “Keeping school children safe includes when they are riding our buses to and from school. The BusPatrol program is a great addition to our toolkit and reflects our ongoing partnership with local and state law enforcement to support the safety of our school children.”
As part of the initiative, the school districts' entire fleets totaling more than 300 buses have been equipped with stop-arm cameras to detect the license plates of drivers that fail to stop for school buses. The video evidence is shared with local law enforcement for review before a citation is issued. The programs will issue tickets starting August 29 as students return to school.
The school districts also hope to enhance student safety through a new education campaign. Schools and local law enforcement will be reminding drivers of school bus stopping laws and teaching children safety tips for getting on and off the bus.
Jean Souliere, CEO and Founder at BusPatrol, said: "Phoenixville, Rose Tree, Spring-Ford, and Methacton school districts are taking proactive measures to ensure their students are safe as they ride the bus. BusPatrol is proven to make roads safer for kids by reducing the rate of illegal passings by up to 30% YoY. We are committed to protecting 100% of kids, 100% of the time, which is why we issue full-fleet deployments wherever we go, whether in a city, suburb or the country. Safety is our mission; that's where it begins and ends."
The technology, installation, and maintenance are available to the school districts and taxpayers at zero cost through the BusPatrol School Bus Safety Program. The program is entirely and exclusively violator-funded.
As stated by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, motorists must stop at least 10 feet away from school buses that have their red lights flashing and stop-arm extended. The penalty for a first-time violation is $300.
Attachments
- School districts, local law enforcement, and government officials at Greater Philadelphia School Bus Safety Event
- Richard Hetherington from BusPatrol
