A New Camera On School Bus Stop Arms Will Help Chesco School Nab Violators

PHOENIXVILLE, PA — Phoenixville Area School District is the first in Chester County to equip buses with cameras that will identify drivers who ignore the fold-out stop signs meant to keep young riders safe in traffic.

The new technology, unveiled as the 2021-22 school year gets underway, has grown in popularity in recent years. Legislation passed in Pennsylvania in 2020 allows stop arm camera companies to enter contracts with school districts and police to work together on enforcement.

"Phoenixville Area School District is proud to be the first district in Chester County to install stop arm safety cameras on our entire fleet of buses," the District said in a statement. "These cameras will automatically activate if a motorist passes a bus when the stop arm is extended. This new technology has the full support of our local law enforcement agencies and is an important addition to keep all of our kids safe."

Dr. Alan Fegley, Superintendent of Schools, Phoenixville Mayor Peter Urscheler, and Phoenixville Police gathered with BusPatrol America on Wednesday to introduce the program.

Just-retired Phoenixville Police Sgt. David Gold was on hand, now in the role of Program Manager with BusPatrol America. Gold explained how the external and internal 360-degree cameras will help keep students safer.

"Every time someone ignores that sign, a child is put at risk," Gold said. Law enforcement and school administration will work with BusPatrol America to administer the program that is 100 percent violator-funded. "There is no cost to taxpayers," Gold said.

The civil summons that will be issued to those who do not heed the bus stop sign is a hefty $300 ticket. Of that, $250 will go to the school district, $25 to the Police Department, and $25 to the National Child Safety Fund, Burns explained.

Fegley told the gathering, "It is a privilege to be here today as the first school district in Chester County to employ this new safety technology on all of our buses. As the Superintendent, I can assure you there is nothing we take more seriously than the safety of each and every one of our students. The addition of stop-arm cameras on our buses will help prevent motorists who break the law in passing a bus with its stop-arm extended and red lights flashing. The internal cameras will also safeguard our students against incidents that may happen on the bus."

Fegley explained the program will function in partnership with three local law enforcement departments: Borough of Phoenixville, Schuylkill Township, and East Pikeland Township.

"The District administration and our School Board of Directors are very proud to work with our local law enforcement groups, Krise Transportation, and BusPatrol to bring this technology to PASD and the Phoenixville community," Fegley said.

Mathew Burns, a retired police officer, explained how the information gathered by cameras will be managed. He said there is "no comingling of the video data" that is gathered outside the bus and inside. Video of students inside the bus is not accessible to police, Burns said.

But, a series of cameras on the outer body of the bus will capture license plate information as well as video of drivers around the bus.

Drivers approaching a bus very closely as the flashing stop sign goes out are not in violation, he said, noting it is only reasonable that drivers have time to get out of the way. The point of violation, he said, is 10 feet. If a driver has 10 feet when approaching a bus and the sign goes out, they must stop.

Burns told bus driver Ed Krier, masked for his job on Wednesday, to make sure he never waves a driver to go when the sign is out, because with the cameras live, "you've just given someone a ticket."

Law enforcement will personally review video from outside cameras to be sure there is a violation before a summons is sent out, Burns explained. The summons will be mailed to the vehicle owner and can be challenged if another person is driving the car, according to the state code.

Phoenixville Police said the goal is "behavior change," and that the program is not automated ticketing. Statistics show where the program has been used, 98 percent of drivers who receive a first violation never have a second one.

A camera on the outside of the bus, in the back, would provide information if the bus were rear-ended, Burns pointed out.

Data gathered from inside the buses — not available to police — can help school administration in attendance and other management situations. The five interior cameras show who's getting on the bus, one aimed at the entry stairwell. Burns said cameras in the center can help students be seen who can be viewed from the front or back.

The goal, Burns said, is to install cameras on every school bus. "Please obey school bus signs," he added.

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