In a proactive effort to combat reckless driving behavior around school buses, WSD has partnered with our local law enforcement and BusPatrol to launch a new school bus safety enforcement program.

As part of the safety initiative, the entire fleet of 55 buses will be outfitted with photo enforcement technology to detect the license plates of vehicles that fail to stop for school buses, putting children at risk. The video evidence is shared with local law enforcement for review before a notice of violation is issued.

The program will go live on September 30, following an education and public awareness campaign. The campaign seeks to educate motorists and learner drivers about school bus safety laws and teach school children how to get on and off the bus as safely as possible. 

“Drivers passing a stopped school bus put children at risk of injury. With this new bus safety technology and partnership to enforce the laws, we hope to eliminate this dangerous behavior in Wissahickon School District and protect our students as they travel to and from school,” said WSD Business Administrator Tim Bricker.   

Each school year, school buses are illegally passed an estimated 43.5 million times nationwide, putting students at risk. In Pennsylvania alone, state authorities reported nearly 200 violations in a single school day during Operation Safe Stop 2023, translating to approximately 31,500 violations over a typical 180-day school year.

Justin Meyers, President and Chief Innovation Officer at BusPatrol, said that the safety initiative is proven to make roads safer: “In other communities, the use of this technology has reduced instances of motorists recklessly disregarding school bus stop signs by over 40%. This significant reduction demonstrates how our program effectively changes behavior and contributes to safer roadways. We look forward to working with Wissahickon School District to make roads safer for all students.”

As stated by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, motorists must stop at least 10 feet away from school buses with red lights flashing and stop-arm extended. The penalty for a first-time violation is $300.

To learn more about the Wissahickon School District bus safety program, go to wsdweb.org/departments/transportation/stop-for-the-bus.