The South Carolina Department of Education is implementing a new tool in order to keep South Carolina students safe. The newest buses rolling off the line with be outfitted with cameras on the stop arms. The cameras are meant to detect vehicles that do not stop for school buses when the buses are stopped, the stop arm is extended, and the flashing lights are activated.
The cameras will notify the Department of Education who will then provide law enforcement with images of the offending vehicle. Fines for failure to stop are $1,062 and six points off the driver’s license.
A South Carolina Highway Patrol spokesperson revealed there were more than 3,000 stop arm violations last year. That is over 3,000 times a South Carolina student’s life was in danger.
The cameras will be installed on the 160 new electrical buses coming out and the cameras will also be installed on some additional buses. Then the plan is to look at retrofitting older buses.
If you are unfamiliar with when to stop for school buses visit scdps.sc.gov to make sure you are aware and up to date on the law. Let’s do everything we can to make sure our students are safe.
