A driver blocks another driver from making a U-turn next to a school bus that had stopped to pick up kids headed to a Maryland elementary school.
It’s a story Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Jack Smith tells to illustrate the problems that occurring with drivers and school buses in Maryland’s largest school system.
A lot of drivers aren鈥檛 stopping when the flashing red lights of school buses come on. And the proof is in the huge increase in tickets that have been issued.
鈥淎n inordinate number of people, I鈥檓 sad and upset and angry to say, pass school buses while the red lights and stop sign and the arm and all of those things are down,鈥� Smith said.
Between Sept. 1, 2018 and Oct. 7, 2018, there were 1,000 cameras mounted on school buses in Montgomery County.
Those cameras issued 3,470 citations to drivers who didn鈥檛 stop when the red lights were flashing.
In the same time frame this year, the county increased the number of buses with those cameras to just over 1,200 鈥� and saw the number of automated tickets doled out soar to 9,347.
That鈥檚 a 270% increase in tickets from the year before, with a 20% increase in cameras.
鈥淔or heaven’s sake everyone, watch for those big yellow buses,鈥� said Smith.
鈥淲hen you see a big yellow bus it鈥檚 highly likely that there are students in the vicinity.鈥�
While there鈥檚 been a nearly 6,000 ticket increase in the automated citations, the number of people stopped by police is down from 39 tickets or warnings over that same five-week period last year to 20 this year.
People caught by the automated cameras are subject to $250 fines. If you鈥檙e caught by a police officer, it鈥檚 a $570 fine and three points are put on your license.
鈥淚t needs to stop,鈥� said Smith. 鈥淎ll students need to be kept safe.鈥�
