School Bus Stop Arm Cameras

Summary ► ► Stop arm cameras are a solution that will capture violations and improve student safety ► ► Program is at no cost to the County, and there may be a small amount of revenue ► ► Study results indicate that at least 6,000 violations occur in one year

Local Violation Statistics ► ► ACPS Transportation works closely with ACPD ► ► Process in place for drivers to report passing incidents to ACPD   49 violations reported in   73 violations reported in   90 violations reported YTD (4/29/2013) ► ► Up from 46 when I reported in December

Overview of Current Process ► ► Requires driver to divert attention from students   Difficult to obtain all information needed to cite   Drivers may have to miss work for court ► ► Labor intensive   Driver writes report   ACPD reviews and issues citation/summons   All parties must appear in court

Bus Driver Survey Results ► ► Survey was taken during pilot to gauge overall experiences of bus drivers ► ► 41 drivers reported at least 1 violation per week (about 25%)   27 drivers reported 1-3 violations per week   9 buses reported 3-5 violations per week   5 buses reported more than 5 violations per week

Pilot Study Results ► ► Cameras were placed on 2 buses   Bus 99 (Route 29 N)   Bus 158 (Hydraulic Road/W. Rio Rd) ► ► Study consisted of 41 operating days ► ► 79 Violations were recorded during this time   31 for bus 99   48 for bus 158

Extrapolating the Data ► ► Based on the bus driver survey, 41 buses are experiencing between 84 and 161 incidents of passing per week ► ► For 36 school weeks, this means that passing incidents occur 3,024 to 5,796 times ► ► With $85 flowing to ACVA/ACPS per violation, this could generate $257,040 to $492,660 in residual revenue for these 41 buses

Extrapolating the Data ► ► The 79 incidents captured during the study average out to one violation per bus, per day ► ► During 180 days of school, this could equal 360 violations that put students at risk for these 2 buses alone ► ► Adding in summer school, the total number of violations is likely over 6,000

Recommendation ► ► Proceed with pursuing the full program to include issuance of citations ► ► Transportation will have a short trial with other vendors to ensure the best solution is pursued

Next Steps ► ► Local ordinance allowing photo enforcement will need to be passed by BOS per § (PG County is first in VA) ► ► Coordinate with ACPD regarding certifying violations ► ► Procurement will need to be finalized ► ► Public education campaign regarding citation issuance program