Claims that school bus stop-arm cameras save the lives of schoolchildren are not supported by data. The cameras are silent sentinels that may help document the circumstances of a bus-related incident after the fact, but the devices cannot prevent safety incidents from occurring.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s report, DOT HS 812 170, School Transportation-Related Fatalities, details the ten years of 2004 to 2013, when the total number of school-transportation-related fatalities was 116, or just under 12 per year, across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Of that total, 67% (78 or ~8 per year) were fatalities caused by persons struck by a school bus or by a vehicle acting as a school bus. The other 33% (38 or ~4 per year) were deaths from being struck by other vehicles.
The fatality statistics showing that two-thirds were a result of school buses vs. one-third related to other vehicles indicate the most significant factor in reducing school bus-related deaths is educating school bus drivers and children on safety protocols, not employing stop-arm cameras. That is, if the goal Is to prevent most injuries and fatalities from ever happening.
As vocal as photo enforcement/stop-arm camera advocates are, it is difficult to understand why they aren’t directing their energies toward demanding enhanced safety training for all bus drivers and school-age pedestrians.
In addition, the nature of the revenue generated by the cameras, which third-party, for-profit companies operate, has resulted in a long history of corrupt and fraudulent activity. Several dozen significant federal charges and convictions involving automated enforcement programs have been documented over the past 20 years.
More specific to stop-arm cameras, a 2017 report about the Dallas, TX County School system includes this quote, “Additionally, DCS’s controversial stop-arm program, which is designed to record and ticket drivers who bypass the stop arms on school buses, has failed to meet revenue expectations and is $20 million behind projections.” The FBI subsequently launched an investigation into the DCS use of stop-arm cameras and uncovered a massive bribery scandal.
The fact that a single, large urban school district anticipated receiving more than $20 million of stop-arm camera revenue is telling in itself. Programs to better educate bus drivers, and school children, and, yes, all motorists about school bus safety would be far more effective than automated enforcement at protecting children on their way to and from school.