Community Put On Notice: Bus Cameras Take Aim at Student Safety

A study over the past several months revealed a significant problem in the community where motorists are ignoring school bus signals, passing them and putting students in danger when red lights are flashing. Now town officials are prepared to fight back.

The Southington Board of Education on Thursday approved a motion to hire Student Guardian to install cameras on all Southington school buses and from this point out, those who ignore the state laws and flashing lights will find themselves suffering the consequences of hefty fines.

The board unanimously passed the motion, with members Jill Notar-Franceso, Patricia Johnson and Patricia Queen absent, and the new program will be self-funded using the income generated through tickets issued to violators.

“We had a very successful trial round this winter, from January to March, and it showed a need for the camera program. An average of 0.6 violations per day were discovered,” said Fred Cox, operations director for Southington schools. “It really showed us as an administration that we need program in place to reduce that number.”

Dana Meinke, Connecticut sales specialist for Student Guardian, said across the nation the number of vehicles passing school buses daily has risen over a two-year period from 0.68 violations per community each day to 0.88 violations.

In Southington, the recent pilot tests were conducted on three buses carrying students along Southington’s busiest routes.

The program uses exterior bus cameras that record motor vehicle activity anytime the stoplights on a school bus are activated, according to Student Guardian Connecticut Sales Specialist Dana Meinke. When a violation occurs, the license plate is recorded and the information is sent to the Southington Police Department for tickets to be issued.

Student Guardian will maintain all responsibility for installation and maintenance of the cameras, as well as review of the footage. They would then send violations and video to the Board of Education and Southington Police Department for review and issuance of tickets, Meinke said.

In Connecticut, fines for passing a standing school bus are $465 dollars. Of that $15 is an administrative fee for courts and the state receives 20 percent, or approximately $91, while the town receives $359.

Under the program for external cameras, the town would keep $125 from each ticket and the remaining $234 would serve as an administrative fee to pay Student Guardian for the safety services and camera maintenance.

The Board of Education is also exploring whether there could be a use for internal cameras as well – Student Guardian is the only service, which offers these services in conjunction with the exterior cameras without charging the town a direct fee – but it would also reduce the amount of money given back to the town from each ticket.

Board of Education Chairman Brian Goralski, after declining to show video of violators during Thursday’s meeting, said the board would not be so kind to those breaking the law in the future.

“Our community should be on notice, we have respected their privacy today but we will not tolerate those breaking the law and putting our students in danger,” Goralski said. “From this point forward, the videos captured will be made public record and there will be consequences. We are going to keep our kids safe.”

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