U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York has called on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to begin a long overdue study on school bus stop-arm cameras.
New York passed a law in August to allow the cameras on buses to catch drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses. Schumer says more than 50,000 vehicles illegally drive past stopped school buses each day.
“We have all seen when the buses stop, they have their sign extenders and there are stop signs on each side of the bus. Well, the mass majority of drivers obey them, they care about the kids’ safety. But all too many, go right through and don’t obey it. And we all know that whizzing past school buses can create real tragedy. There are little kids often times that are crossing the street, and they’re coming down the stairs of a bus, and it can create real problems.”
Schumer wants to see if the New York law needs to be implemented on a national level.
The federal agency was supposed to complete such a study last year, but funding cuts slowed the process.
Suffolk and Nassau Counties have measures in place to allow school districts to opt in to get cameras for school buses.
