Between September 2023 and January 2024, Bridgeport officials recorded 9,860 passing parked school buses without stopping, an illegal offense in Connecticut.
During this year’s legislative session, state Sen. Herron Keyon Gaston (D-Bridgeport) proposed legislation that would allow communities across Connecticut to equip school buses with cameras that would capture drivers who fail to stop as students get off the bus in response.
“Driving is a privilege; it is not a right,” Gaston said, who spoke alongside Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim at Dunbar Elementary School on Tuesday. “And when we're driving, we have to ensure that we are obeying the rules of the road. But more importantly, when we see a stop arm for a school bus that we stop, just like we were stopping at a stop sign. Because our kids are just that precious.”
The bill passed in both the House and the Senate nearly unanimously.
The use of camera monitors on school buses isn’t new to Bridgeport; Ganim’s administration received permission from the City Council in 2022 to install cameras on the buses as part of an experimental program. The pilot program faced challenges, including difficulties in placing fines on drivers who failed to stop for buses.
Now, both Gaston and Ganim are confident the law will allow for proper action to take place against offenders.
“This measure [is] sending a loud and clear message that people who want to disregard the law and the safety of our students will not be tolerated,” Ganim said. “They'll be dealt with. They'll be ticketed and fined, and have to suffer the consequences.”
Gaston also said the new bill adjusts where the proceeds from the fines go after they are dealt with, redirecting the funding back to the community.
“I think we have to put our money where our mouth is," Gaston said. "At first, whenever a person passed a school bus, 80% of the proceeds would go to the state, and only 20% of those resources would go back to the local community. I helped to switch the framework.”
Under current Connecticut law, the first offense fine for not stopping for a school bus is $450. Gaston said when the new bill takes effect, the amount fined will be reduced to $250, regardless of whether a police officer or a school bus camera spots the infraction.
The pilot program is expected to end on July 1, after which the new law will be implemented.
