LEBANON, Ind. -- The Lebanon Community School District is installing cameras on all school bus stop arms because the district says too many drivers are disregarding the stop sign.
One bus driver caught 15 cars passing the stop arm in just the past two months.
The cameras records each time the arm is deployed. Bus drivers can manually mark the time of a violation with the press of a button and the director of transportation can get a vehicle's license plate number.
"If it's not a divided highway where there is a median or grass in between the highway, everyone is supposed to be stopping for a stop arm when a bus is approaching," said Becky Nichols, Lebanon Community Schools Director of Transportation.
Nichols says several buses have their stop arm passed every day, putting students like Hattie B. Stokes Elementary 5th grader Jayden Kwiek in danger.
"We were getting off the bus and this car, he drove right beside the doors and almost hit one of us," said Jayden.
"Had a young lady getting ready to exit the bus, and someone did, and there is a truck coming on the right-hand side of the bus and my bus driver actually had to grab the back of her shirt and yell at her to stop because the vehicle was going past. So that was an extremely close call on a student's life that day," said Nichols.
The Lebanon Community School Board approved the purchase of 39 stop arm cameras, costing $44,000.
"If it takes the tickets or the warnings or call them, sending them a letter so that they understand what the laws and the rules are for student safety, we've got to keep our students safe," said Nichols.
The district says come fall, all 40 school buses will have stop arm cameras.
If you get caught in Boone County passing a school bus when the stop arm is out, you could get a ticket for up to $260.
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