Rockland County Launches Rockland County School Bus Safety program.

by M.C. Millman

Rockland County officials have partnered with BusPartrol, to launch Rockland County School Bus Safety, a new school bus safety program that will mount cameras on the stop-arms of school buses.

The program will include buses of participating districts and private schools as well.

BusPatrol, is a company specializing in school bus safety technology with a mission to create a culture of accountability and awareness around school buses and children by changing driver behavior.

The new initiative is meant to cut back on the estimated 50,000 drivers in New York State who illegally pass stopped school buses every single school day, putting the lives and safety of children at risk. The program boasts an up to thirty percent improvement in violations annually. 

"The safety of the children is paramount," Harry Grossman, ERCSD board member, shares his personal opinion with Rockland Daily, "and as such, we want to do everything in our power to make sure the buses are safe and the children getting on and off buses is done safely. The problem in the past has always been the cost. If someone else is picking up the cost of outfitting the buses with the cameras, this is a no-brainer. "

Once a district opts into the program, school buses will be equipped with cameras on the bus stop-arms at no cost to districts. Drivers caught by those cameras illegally passing activated stop-arms on school buses will then be issued penalties by mail.

School buses of Rockland school districts who opt into the new program will be equipped with cameras on the bus stop-arms at no cost to districts.

Drivers caught illegally passing buses on school buses with the cameras will then be issued penalties by mail. School bus camera tickets will be based on an evidence package that contains the video and GPS telemetry of the offense. Drivers who receive tickets can review their offenses online.

Previous to the program launch, there will be an ongoing community education and awareness campaign with road signage, community announcements, and warning letters followed by a 30-day warning period with warning letters issued to drivers who fail to stop for school buses but without a monetary penalty until after the expiration of the 30 days.

There will be an Information Session on the program at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, March 1, at the Rockland County Fire Training Center for school leaders from both public and private schools in attendance for the in-depth details and presentation from BusPatrol. There will also be a live look at the camera equipment that will be installed on bus stop arms.