FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): Every day in Allen County, almost 200 people drive around a stopped school bus with its stop arm extended, putting kids getting on and off the bus in danger.
That’s why Fort Wayne Community Schools installed stop-arm cameras on their buses, but a report from the Journal Gazette reveals that many times, criminal charges aren’t coming to those caught on camera breaking the law.
Tony Maze of the Fort Wayne Police Department tells WOWO News it’s not as simple as it sounds:
“One of the issues we have is the way the law is currently structured. Who do we issue the citation to? The officer would need to witness it, so we can identify and cite the driver. The way the law is currently structured, we couldn’t necessarily issue a citation to the owner of the vehicle, because the owner might not be driving, and the ordinance says the charge should be against the driver.”
FWCS officials say they’re working to help resolve those questions. The school district has 299 buses, and by the end of next year, 44 of them will be equipped with cameras.
2 comments
This is a serious issue and continues to place students at risk. In some areas of the county the schools have redrawn the bus routes so that the students do not have to cross the street. Although a good idea it is cumbersome. The big red stop sign on the side of a extremely large yellow bus is easy to see. If a driver can not see these two things and know what to do they should not be driving.
It’s time busses deploy spike strips when stopped. Tell me I am wrong…