The Talladega County School System’s Department of Transportation is using the digital cameras to crack down on drivers who pass school buses in an illegal and dangerous manner.
If you are on the roads in the early morning or mid-afternoon and find yourself behind a slow-moving school bus, just slow down until it is safe to go around them. Yes, the buses stop and start a lot as they pick up or let off our children. But their safety is more important than your need to get somewhere.
Children are taught how to get on and off a bus safely. But they are children, and not all will remember the rules. We presume those who have driver’s licenses are mature enough to recognize that and will drive in a safe manner that protects these children.
But not every driver does that. Hence the cameras.
“If you illegally pass one of our school buses in Talladega County, we’re coming after you,” said Griff Hill, coordinator of transportation for the system.
The School System is not coming after drivers to be punitive. It is coming after them in an attempt to reduce the possibility of a child being hit by an automobile. In that case, the child loses every time.
Since their installation, 30 citations have been written because of the cameras. Not one of those 30 violators contested the ticket. The proof was right there in a photo attached to the ticket.
Not all school buses have the cameras yet. But as the buses are upgraded, the new cameras will be added. Drivers don’t know which buses have the cameras and which don’t, so perhaps the possibility of being caught by the camera will cause some to obey the law instead of hurrying around a bus while it is stopped and students are getting off or on.
Hill has been the driving force behind this effort. He heard of a system in North Carolina using these cameras after a child was hit by a car illegally passing a stopped school bus. He investigated, found a company in Dothan that provided the cameras and got them put on 67 buses in the Talladega County system. We commend him for the effort. It will pay off.
The punishment for illegally passing a school bus is stiff. Fines, loss of license, and hours of community service are required for those caught violating the law.
We support the strictest enforcement of this law and recommend that all school systems in Talladega and St. Clair counties add these cameras to their buses as soon as possible.
The safety of our children is far more important than a few minutes saved by passing a stopped school bus. Using these cameras helps provide that safety.
Post a Comment
