Hatboro-Horsham School Buses Now Have Cameras

HATBORO / HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA — School bus cameras will be coming to Hatboro and Horsham Township on June 1.

While the school year will be coming to a close soon, the Hatboro-Horsham School District said it's partnering with BusPatrol and local law enforcement to launch the new school bus safety program to enhance the safety of students and address reckless driving near school buses.

All district buses will be equipped with advanced cameras designed to prevent the dangerous and illegal passing of stopped school buses, a violation that occurs over 43 million times each year across the country, school officials said.

In collaboration with BusPatrol and local law enforcement, the district will utilize automated technology to enforce Pennsylvania’s school bus safety laws. Each potential violation will be reviewed before a $300 citation is issued.

Arming all 46 buses would cost $138,000, but school officials said the installation costs would be picked up by Bus Patrol, which outfits school bus fleets with the latest stop-arm safety technology, including stop-arm cameras, DVR, and storage devices, interior cameras, GPS, telemetry, and LTE connectivity.

The cameras are activated when the stop arm of the bus is extended as children get on and off the bus. They capture video of vehicles illegally passing the bus and endangering those children.

The videos of vehicles disregarding the stop arm and flashing red lights would be forwarded to the Hatboro and Horsham Township police departments. The district would need agreements with both before installing the cameras.

When a vehicle is captured on camera, police could then issue violations where warranted.

Bus Patrol would get its money back in two ways: from a technology fee of $250 a month for each bus and from a $65 fee for each violation issued.

The $300 fine would be split between the district ($250), the police department ($25) and a state sponsored school board safety grant ($25). Bus Patrol’s $65 violation fee would come out of the district’ portion.

Abington and Cheltenham townships are among the eastern Montgomery County school districts to outfit their buses with cameras. Several school districts in nearby Bucks County, such as Bensalem, also have cameras on school buses.