Drivers getting ticketed for passing stopped Pittsburgh Public Schools buses
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Back to school is just around the corner and that means buses will be back on the road, and Pittsburgh Public Schools is warning drivers to pay attention and obey all signals.
It comes down to paying attention. The school district said it's on the public to help protect our students, so when you see buses stop, make sure you do as well.
Several videos from school buses show cars blowing past stopped buses with the stop sign out.
"No one believes that people just blatantly run through the stop arm. I don't know if it's distracted driving or not paying attention or not completely understanding the laws for the road," PPS Chief Operations Officer Mike McNamara said.
They started working with the cameras on buses last year. The cameras will see if someone goes past a stop arm and take a picture and video of the plate.
"You run through that stop arm, you will be on film and we're going to send you a citation," McNamara said.
Since the beginning of the year, McNamara said they've seen about 10,000 violations, an average of more than 70 a day. They've been in every corner of the city.
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"That figure is just staggering," he said.
The school district did a pilot program from May until early July to start warning drivers and had 1,700 violations. Since July 5, all violations are now ticketed. So far, there have been about 200, and that's while there are not many buses running. In some cases, there have been near misses where a child was almost hit by a driver.
"I can't even put into words how the bus drivers must feel when they put that stop arm out and they see a car blow through it and the kid is crossing that street," McNamara said.
Pittsburgh Public is also able to track where these violations are occurring. They said one of the worst spots is the 1000 block of Chappel Avenue in Banksville. McNamara said they will use data like this to make sure stops are safer for students. According to him, the majority of the work to keep the students safe falls on drivers.
"Just be careful out there and just realize when we start up school, there's going to be a lot of kids who are walking to school. A lot of kids on those buses," McNamara said.
If you do get a ticket, you will get a picture and video of the violation. PPS says drivers will face a $300 fine.