BuffaloNews.com — The Buffalo School Board on Nov. 15 approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) among the City of Buffalo, the school district and its transportation partner to allow BusPatrol to install outward-facing cameras on all school buses to catch drivers completing the illegal maneuver. The Common Council approved the contract 7-1 on Sept. 19. State law dictates that first-time violations lead to a $250 fine.
“The use of stop-arm cameras will go a long way toward enforcing existing traffic laws that require motorists to stop for school buses that have stopped to let students board or disembark,” said Jeffrey Hammond, Buffalo Schools’ spokesperson.
“Communities are best receptive to a change in enforcement when they get a little bit of a grace period,” BusPatrol representative Steve Randazzo told the Council in September.
Randazzo said the system is effective in reducing violations and discouraging repeat offenders. Because AI technology will be on every school bus and identifies vehicle license plates, Randazzo said, it does not prey on the poor and does not discriminate.
“The secret sauce to changing behavior is that anywhere in the City of Buffalo where someone passes a school bus and endangers a child’s life, they are held accountable,” Randazzo said.
The program is of no cost to the City of Buffalo or the school district. BusPatrol installs and operates the camera systems, pays for a city employee to manage the program, and troubleshoots problems – all using money collected from fines paid by violators. The safety company receives roughly 60% of the revenue, while the City of Buffalo receives 40%.