PHOTO CAPTION: Vernon Mayor Dan Champagne is joined by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jennifer Hills-Papetti, Police Chief Marc Petruzzi, town council members and Brad Macdowall of BusPatrol to announce Vernon's School Bus Safety program.
When Vernon students go back to school this Thursday, a new technology aboard school buses will help protect students by enforcing the law.
The Town of Vernon is working with BusPatrol, which has mounted cameras on school buses that will record motorists who illegally pass buses when the flashing red lights are activated and the stop arm is deployed. Violators face a $250 civil fine.
For the first 30 days of the school year there will be a warning period and violators will receive a warning letter but no fine. Beginning Sept. 28, violators face fines.
“Getting our students to and from school safely is a top priority,” Vernon Mayor Dan Champagne said. “The BusPatrol technology is designed to keep our kids safe and to get drivers to comply with the law and stop for school buses when they are picking up or dropping off students. My hope is that we never give out any tickets, that people obey the law and we keep our kids safe.”
BusPatrol’s cameras use artificial intelligence to detect and identify vehicles that illegally pass school buses. The cameras capture the license plates of vehicles as well as video of the violation. Vernon police officers review the video footage to determine whether a violation should be issued.
“Every time a driver illegally passes a stopped school bus, they put a child’s life at risk,” Vernon Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jennifer Hills-Papetti said. “Our goals are to keep our students safe and prevent dangerous incidents.”
Vernon Police Chief Marc Petruzzi said the technology is a tool that he hopes will get drivers to be more mindful as they drive through town.
“Our ultimate goal is that this system discovers no violations because everyone is complying with the law and keeping our kids safe,” Petruzzi said. “I would love to be able to put an officer behind every bus across town to enforce the law. That is not practical. Using this system allows us to greatly improve the safety of all school children.”
First Student operates 37 school buses for Vernon Public Schools students, all of which are equipped with the BusPatrol cameras.
“Every child deserves to arrive at school and return home safely,” said Justin Meyers, president and chief innovation officer of BusPatrol. “We are proud to partner with the Town of Vernon and Vernon Public Schools to help spread awareness of this critical child safety issue through strong community partnerships and help make roads safer.”
Connecticut law requires motorists to stop for a school bus when its red warning lights are flashing. Drivers must stop at least 10 feet from the front or rear of a school bus that is displaying its flashing red signal lights and remain there until the bus no longer displays the lights.
Under town ordinance, illegally passing a stopped school bus carries a $250 fine for a first offense with no license points. If a police officer spots a motorist illegally passing a school bus, the fine is $450 to $475 and four points assessed against a driver’s license. The fine increases for subsequent violations.
For more information about Vernon’s school bus safety program, including the appeals process and data retention policies, visit www.vernon-ct.gov/page/school-bus-safety.
You can watch the press conference announcing the program here: