Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) — Macomb County school buses are being outfitted with cameras to record vehicles that pass while buses' red stop lights are flashing.
Local school districts and the sheriff's office are partnering to add video recorders to the inside and cameras to the outside of buses, the Detroit News reported (http://bit.ly/1uH175s ). Officials plan to unveil the monitoring system at Endeavour Middle School on Thursday.
The cameras attached to the outside of the bus will take photos of vehicles that pass by while it's stopped with lights flashing. Drivers are required by law to stop their vehicles no less than 20 from a bus that has activated its lights. Ignoring the stop signals is a violation punishable by a fine and up to 100 hours of community service in Michigan.
Bus drivers currently complete forms about such incidents and send them to the sheriff's office for consideration. They learn how to properly document violations through annual training sessions held by the sheriff's department. But the process often takes a long time, and the new system is intended to speed up that process, according to Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham.
The cameras are intended to keep students safe while they are both inside and outside of their school bus.
New Haven and Romeo community schools have implemented the monitoring system.
___
Information from: The Detroit News, http://detnews.com/
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
