Passing school buses illegally nets big fines

Nearly 20,700 tickets have been issued since camera program began.

Austin-area drivers paid $3.6 million in fines over a 17-month period for allegedly passing school buses illegally.

Last year, the Austin school district launched its school bus stop-arm safety program, which uses bus-mounted video cameras to identify vehicles that illegally pass a bus after its flashing lights or its stop arm have activated.

Nearly 20,700 tickets have been issued since the start of the program in February 2016 to the owners of the vehicles caught on camera.

About 900 drivers illegally passed a school bus during last year’s first week of school, accord- ing to district police.

“The No. 1 reason we started this program is to start a safety culture and to educate the public,” said Kris Hafezizadeh, the district’s executive director of transportation. “When a school bus has flashing lights on, the purpose is for loading and unloading students.”

School is around the corner, starting Monday for Austin district students. The more than

500 yellow school buses that transport 22,000 of the district’s students also will be back on the road, and the bus-mounted cameras again will be watching.

The violations result in $300 tickets mailed to the vehicle owners. Arizona-based American Traffic Solutions, which mounted the cameras and helps manage the program, keeps 60 percent of the ticket revenue. The district has netted nearly $1.4 million in revenue since the start of the program.

District officials said they hope the tickets deter drivers from passing the buses, but so far, the number of tickets issued in 2017 is on track to exceed those issued in 2016.

“When the stop arm is out and the loading lights are on, it’s against the law to pass the school bus,” Hafezizadeh said. “To take that chance ... may lead to a dangerous and unfortunate situation.”

Last year, within the first two weeks of school, two Austin students were struck by vehicles after stepping off school buses.

The two separate incidents were caught on video by the cameras mounted on the school buses.

In Austin, the 20,685 tickets equate to about 1,200 a month, which includes citations issued during summer school. By comparison, 9,331 citations were issued to vehicles for illegally passing school buses in San Antonio’s 67,800-student North East school district during school months since the program started in November. That amounts to about 1,300 a month.

RICARDO B. BRAZZIELL /AMERICAN-STATESMAN When a school bus is stopped with its lights flashing, drivers in all lanes must stop unless they are on the other side of a median. District law officers review the violation video and license plate images before a citation is issued.

RICARDO B. BRAZZIELL / AMERICAN-STATESMAN The district’s buses offer bus safety reminders for Austin drivers. Passing a stopped school bus illegally can result in a $300 ticket being mailed to the vehicle owner by an Arizona firm that keeps 60 percent of the revenue.