CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va - School and county leaders in Chesterfield are expected to discuss the viability of installing "stop arm" cameras on every county school bus. The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors/School Board Liaison meeting is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Stop arm cameras record video of vehicles that ignore bus lights when children are getting on or off the bus. The video is sent to a company in Dallas, which then sends it back to Chesterfield Police. Officers review the footage, and decide whether or not to slap the violator with a $250 ticket. The ticket is then mailed to the offending driver.
While Virginia law allows localities to issue citations to the registered owners of photographed vehicles as a civil penalty which carries a $250 fine, there is currently no ordinance for Chesterfield County. In February, the Board of Supervisors delayed a final decision on the matter saying the wanted to gather more information.
Recently, Chesterfield County Schools conducted a second pilot program on the system, installing cameras on 50 of the county's 600 buses. In just one month, officials said they flagged 300 violators.
"You have a number of our buses everyday that are passed, which puts our students in danger," Dr. Robert Wingfield, Director of Pupil Transportation for Chesterfield Schools, said. "We want some type of tool we can use to keep those kids safe."
Wingfield said bus drivers are currently responsible for witnessing violators, writing down their license plate number and reporting the incident to the authorities. A process, Wingfield said, that prevents drivers from paying full attention to students.
The next scheduled meeting of the Board of Supervisors is May 27.
