Miamisburg turns to school bus cameras
State Rep. Antani wants stiffer penalties for drivers who break law.
Miamisburg City Schools bought cameras after complaints from bus drivers and parents of traffic safety laws being violated.
Miamisburg City MIAMIBURG — Schools has purchased cameras to record drivers who violate the law by not yielding for stopped buses.
The cameras were bought after complaints from bus drivers and parents who have reported instances where school bus safety laws have been violated, according to Superintendent David Vail.
The district bought five cameras and is working to mount them on buses, according to Vail.
“The determination was toplace these cameras on the buses which have reported violations on their routes and/or those traveling in high-traffic areas,” Vail wrote in an email. “The cameras are designed to capture the rear license plate” as Ohio law will no longer require front plates after July 1, 2020.
One parent who lives near Miamisburg High School told both city and school district officials late last year there have ongoing issues with drivers on Belvo Road ignoring bus safety guidelines.
On two-lane roads, drivers traveling in both directions must stop for halted school buses, according to Ohio law. They must remain stopped until the bus moves or the driver signals traffic can proceed.
Each camera costs between $400 and $500, Vail said. That expense is part of a bill sponsored by state Rep. Niraj Antani. He cited the Miamisburg issue in introducing House Bill 89, which aims to stiffening penalties for violators.
The bill calls for doubling the maximum fine in such cases to $1,000 and increasing the maximum severity of resulting driver’s license suspensions.
The Miami Twp. Republican’s proposal would also provide up to $1 million in grants statewide for the purchase of cameras.
About 30 school-age children are killed in the U.S. each year in school-transportation-related crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Most of those crashes take place outside of the bus or in other vehicles, the NHTSA found.
During a 10-year span ending in 2015, 34 percent of those fatalities involved pedestrians and 18 percent were occupants of school transportation vehicles, according to the NHTSA.