The Minnesota Department of Public Safety has approved $2.9 million in grant funding for school bus arm cameras aimed at catching and preventing people from passing a bus while it's stopped.
Office of Traffic Safety director Mike Hanson shared that technology will allow bus drivers to easily track violations and quickly relay that information to local police.
"It's all about keeping those kids safe. Kids shouldn't have to be afraid to get on and off the bus. Nor should a parent ever have to be afraid to send their kids to the school bus stop or to pick them up at that spot after school because another driver makes a bad decision," Hanson said.
Monday's announcement was the third round of approvals and included 21 schools and transportation companies. In total, more than 90 have been approved for the cameras.
The approved funding is the third stage of a larger $15 million grant commitment that the state is in the midst of doling out. By the time it's done later this year, around 6,000 of the state's 12,000 buses will have the technology, making sure kids are protected.
"Anybody who is violating that stop arm is putting our most precious cargo, our kids, in great danger," Hanson said.
The Department of Public Safety is already seeing results from the new grant program for cameras on school bus stop arms. Of the 90 schools taking part in the program, 14 have been surveyed and said they reported over 100 violations in the first two weeks of school.
"If we look at the five-year average, there are 1,100 stop violations that have been taking place across Minnesota," Hanson said. "The fact that in two weeks, we've had a tenth of that take place already, that's scary."
State law requires all vehicles to stop for at least 20 feet from school buses when the bus driver activates the flashing lights and has the stop arm fully extended. Drivers who violate the law face a $500 fine.
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