PennDOT issues new rules under update to school bus stop arm camera law
PennDOT has published new guidance on the use of school bus stop arm enforcement cameras — changes that were authorized under a law passed last year, and which include new rules for violators to be heard by PennDOT officials before heading to court.
The use of stop arm cameras was growing among Pennsylvania school districts and bus contractors, PennLive previously reported, even before the passage of Act 19 of 2023 was signed into law in October of last year.
Stop-arm cameras are designed to photograph drivers illegally passing school buses that have stopped to let students on and off. The legal authorization allowing school districts, police, and courts to use the cameras was set to expire, but was extended and updated by Act 19.
“This program is about increasing the safety of children riding school buses across the state,” PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said in Monday’s announcement. “Please stop for – and never pass – stopped school buses with their red lights flashing and stop arm extended. The safety of our children is in your hands.”
Under the existing framework, school districts — or camera companies that they contract with — can install devices on school buses and turn over images of violators to police, who can issue $300 fines through the local courts.
Act 19 allows PennDOT hearing officers to informally adjudicate disputed fines; motorists can still appeal the matter to court, with the associated costs, if they wish. The law also tasks PennDOT with approving and regulating stop-arm camera devices themselves, with Monday’s rule-making providing a certification process.
The law also specifies procedures for turning stop arm camera evidence over to local police, and makes this material subject to audit and annual reporting from PennDOT and the Pennsylvania State Police.
The updated law also prohibits camera companies from requiring school districts to issue a certain number of fines as part of their contract, and specifies how fine revenue is to be divided among districts, camera companies, law enforcement, and a state-run fund for school safety grants.
Pennsylvania law requires motorists coming from any direction to stop at least 10 feet from a school bus with its lights flashing and stop arm sign extended (an exception is made for divided highways with a physical median like a grass strip or concrete curbing).
PennDOT’s annual “Operation Safe Stop” survey recorded 176 violations of the law in a single day last year, which the agency said is proof that continued enforcement is needed. Some motorists’ groups had opposed continuing the camera law, saying it was intrusive and noting that more students are killed by buses themselves than by passing cars.
