School Bus Safety
If you are a regular reader, you have probably seen me write about school bus safety. One of the most prevalent violations on Harford County roadways involves drivers passing or overtaking a school bus while the red lights are flashing. Sometimes people will even do this in conjunction with other unsafe behavior, such as Sally zooming by while texting her friends, or Poppop Googling around in his email. Well, fear not! Harford County Public Schools in partnership with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office are taking steps to help keep our students safe.
Currently, 100 county school buses, or approximately 20% of the fleet for my fellow math nerds out there, are equipped with “stop arm cameras.” These cameras, which are mounted to the side of the bus, begin recording any time the red flashing lights on the bus are activated. When John Q Citizen decides that today is a good day to disregard the health and safety of innocent children, the cameras capture the wrong-doing and the video is uploaded to a digital server. Once received, a member of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office will review the video and once verified, a citation in the amount of $125 will be mailed to the registered owner’s home address. The best way to avoid this? Simply remember that state law requires you to stop twenty feet from the school bus any time the red lights are flashing.
The system, which went live last week, has recorded fifty violations in the first four days. This is WAAAAAAAY too many drivers who are making terribly unsafe choices. Here is hoping we can all work together to drive (pun intended) this number down to zero.
As always, if you have a question or concern, please leave it in the comments below. Also, if you have a specific concern with unsafe driving in your area, such as speeding, drag racing, etc., give us a call, send an email, or reach out on social media. Until next week, slow down, pay attention, wear your seatbelt, and drive safely
HCSO Main Line – 410.838.6600
Northern Precinct – 410.692.7880
Southern Precinct – 410.612.1717
HCSO Traffic Unit – 443.409.3324
traffictiptuesday@harfordsheriff.org
@hcsotrafficsgt on Instagram