North Penn To Use New Technology To Catch Bus Violators

LANSDALE, PA — The North Penn School District will outfit its buses with a special technology that will detect the license plates of vehicles that fail to stop when the stop arm is extended.

The new technology will be implemented for the 2024-25 school year, starting on Aug. 28.

The tech, called Bus Patrol, then shares the video evidence of violating the law with the local police, who will then issue a ticket.

“In other communities, the use of this technology has reduced instances of motorists recklessly disregarding school bus stop signs by over 40 percent,” Justin Meyers, president at BusPatrol, said in a statement. “This significant reduction demonstrates how our program effectively changes behavior and contributes to safer roadways. We look forward to working with the North Penn School District to make roads safer for all students.”

School buses are illegally passed an estimated 43.5 million times nationwide, the district said, with more than 200 incidents reported in a single school day in Pennsylvania in 2023.

The penalty for a first time violation is $300.