Salem Officials, AAA Northeast To Tout School Bus Camera Program

SALEM, MA — Salem city and school officials will join AAA Northeast representatives on Tuesday to tout the district's efforts to improve safety around school buses and the ability to track both buses and the students who are supposed to be on them.

The district has implemented a BusPatrol GPS surveillance system that will allow buses to record data of drivers failing to stop for buses when students are boarding and departing — which is a state law but is only enforceable when police officers witness a violation.

Peabody has also implemented the pilot program that the districts hope will influence state legislators to enact a law that will enable citations to be issued through video as well as first-hand evidence.

Salem parents and the school district are now also able to track where and when their students get on and off school buses with the launch of a new "Wayfinder" program that scans a student I.D. badge upon bus entry and departure.

The tracking system records where and at what time a student enters the bus and is available to parents and guardians to review as well.

Superintendent Steve Zrike said the program will help enhance student safety by letting parents know that they are en route to and from school at what times, and will allow the district to better measure bus ridership so it can potentially offer the service to more families.

Salem Schools Transportation Director Vanessa Fagundes said in August the ability to better track students under school supervision when they are not in the buildings is "something I have been trying to tackle for years."

"It has been a challenge and I think we are finally there," she said. "We've gotten the technology to help us move forward in this area. This is something that we're very excited about. We hope all families download Stopfinder so they can see their child's record as well."

The Tuesday morning event at Witchcraft Heights Elementary School will include AAA officials there to discuss its "School’s Open, Drive Carefully" efforts to emphasize safe driving near schools and pedestrian safety.

Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo, Zrike, Salem Police Chief Lucas Miller, State Rep. Manny Cruz, AAA Northeast Spokesperson Mark Schieldrop, BusPatrol School Bus Camera Pilot Program Spokesperson Brad Macdowall, and representatives of NRT Bus are expected to be in attendance.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)