NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Niagara Falls City School District is the first in Western New York to install stop-arm cameras on school buses.
"We like being the first, especially when it comes to safety, especially when it comes to good things for kids," said Mark Laurrie, Superintendent of Niagara Falls City School District
The cameras are used to catch drivers illegally passing stopped buses.
Buses have seven cameras and they record during every ride. When the red stop arm comes out, the video is flagged and if someone illegally passes a bus, Niagara Falls Police will send a ticket.
"Film goes right to the cloud, cloud goes right to the company, right to the police department, it is the easiest lift the school has ever had," said Laurrie.
The law approving the cameras was signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo back in August.
According to officials, the cameras went into use on two buses at the end of September.
Officials say the cameras have caught 20 vehicles illegally passing stopped buses in the last week. The fine is $250.
This piece of equipment pays for itself with the money collected in fines, according to David Poirier, President of BusPatrol America, the manufacturing company for the cameras.
It's up to the school board to decide whether or not every bus gets this new technology at their next meeting on October 17.
