Drivers have illegally passed Pittsburgh Public Schools buses 9,000 times since July, report says
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Drivers have illegally passed Pittsburgh Public Schools buses 9,000 times since July, according to a report released by the district on Thursday.
The report shows there have been 9,202 stop-arm violations since the enforcement of a new school bus camera safety program began in the summer, resulting in nearly 5,000 tickets. It's illegal to pass a school bus when its stop arm is extended, and district officials said reckless driving puts the lives of students "dangerously at risk."
Last year, Pittsburgh Public Schools equipped its bus fleet with BusPatrol cameras, which use AI-powered technology to grab the license plates of drivers who illegally pass buses. Authorities then review that information before a violation notice is issued.
The back-to-school period had the most violations, with a "whopping" 8,770, and the month of October had the highest with 2,230 illegal school bus passings, Pittsburgh Public Schools said.
In one video the district shared on Thursday, a driver hit a child, injuring their arm.
"If you look at that and can't understand what this is all about, I can't understand what's going on in your mind at all," Pittsburgh school board member Sylvia Wilson said.
Pennsylvania state law requires drivers to stop at least 10 feet away from school buses that have flashing lights and extended stop arms. The penalty for a first-time violation is $300.
Some drivers have complained about the fine, saying some buses are slow to put their sign out, or they've been ticketed when the bus driver has waved them past. Wilson has a message for those drivers.
"I am absolutely appalled and angered that so many of these violations are going on and somebody's trying to come up with some excuses about whether or not somebody was OK when they drove by the bus. Follow the doggone law, keep to the law, make sure our kids are safe. That's what we should be worrying about. We wouldn't even be dealing with any money and fines if people did what they're supposed to do," Wilson said.
From July to December, the program collected over $858,000 from fines. Some of that goes to state school bus safety programs and Pittsburgh school police, while some goes to bus patrol and monthly camera maintenance. PPS says after everything is doled out, they've received about $194,000.
"This is not about the money at all. I'd prefer to make zero dollars because that means that everybody's following the law," said chief operations officer Michael McNamara.
The district has more information about its school bus safety program on its website.
Contributor: KDKA-TV Producer Tory Wegerski