SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The nation’s leading mayors united behind a resolution that addresses the growing problem of illegal passing of school buses that are stopped and boarding or disembarking children. At the 80th annual U.S. Conference of Mayors a resolution (found on page 29) was passed in support of school bus stop-arm enforcement cameras to protect children who ride a school bus to and from school every day.
The resolution “strongly supports the use of school bus safety cameras to help reduce the number of vehicles that pass school buses illegally” and the Conference of Mayors pledges to provide information to the nations’ Mayors and Legislators about the benefits of these lifesaving devices.
The lead sponsors of the resolution include the Honorable Joy Cooper of the City of Hallandale Beach, Fla. and The Honorable James Schmitt of the City of Green Bay, Wis.
“Our goal is to encourage elected officials to support this new technology, to enhance the safety of our roadways by protecting all of us–most importantly our most valued resource, our children,” stated Mayor Joy Cooper of The City of Hallandale Beach, Fla. “This resolution will enable bus drivers to focus on the safety of the children rather than monitoring reckless drivers.”
Almost 112,000 school bus drivers in 28 states kept track of how many times other motorists passed their school buses illegally while the buses were stopped and were displaying their flashing red lights and stop arms. The drivers reported more than 37,000 incidents, involving more than 76,000 vehicles. Conducted by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, the study results represent well over 13 million violations by private motorists in a single school year.
About American Traffic Solutions:
ATS is proud to be a market leader in road safety camera installations in North America. ATS has more than 3,000 installed red-light and speed safety cameras serving more than 30 million people.
