Video shows hundreds of illegal school bus passings in Peabody, Salem
PEABODY - Video shows hundreds of close calls for kids getting off school buses in Peabody and Salem. Cars are seen illegally zipping past school buses with their stop signs fully extended as kids are crossing the street.
"Epidemic of distracted driving"
"We have an epidemic of distracted and reckless driving not only with Massachusetts but around the country," BusPatrol America Chief Growth Officer Steve Randazzo said.
The problem is so severe that a new study released by BusPatrol found an alarming rate of hundreds of illegal school bus passings in both Peabody and Salem school districts. Over the past two months BusPatrol installed school bus stop-arm cameras to demonstrate and track how many illegal school bus passings took place.
Hundreds of illegal passings in Salem, Peabody
In Salem, just over 1,000 vehicles blew past stopped school buses. This is equivalent to three illegal passes per bus per day, according to BusPatrol. "The most dangerous moment for a child is when he or she is getting on and off the school bus because of that distracted driving," Randazzo said.
According to the report, seven Peabody school buses were equipped with the BusPatrol AI-powered stop arm camera, and it recorded 661 vehicles that failed to stop when the sign was out.
"My first reaction [to the video] was I was horrified. Some of these cars that are passing these buses aren't just driving by at very slow speeds. Some of them are flying right through the buses and the zones where the kids are coming out of the buses," Peabody Police Captain Scott Richards said. "Too many people are distracted by phone, GPS."
"The most terrifying thing"
Lisa Conners has been a school bus driver for 29 years and is not surprised by the new study. "It's so scary, it's ridiculous," Conners said.
She once saved a student's life. "I did have an incident once a car was coming up on the inside of me and I grabbed that child's hood and saved him. It was the most terrifying thing," Conners said.
Police want state to pass new law
Massachusetts lawmakers are considering legislation that would allow school districts, in partnership with law enforcement, to operate stop-arm-enforced camera systems to address illegal school bus passings. The bill would allow drivers to be cited based on video evidence.
"The problem with law enforcement is that we don't have somebody available to follow each and every bus so we are looking for the state to pass a law that would allow us to be able to cite folks based on videotaped evidence," Richards said.
