A fleet of 30 Upper Dublin School District buses will soon be modernized with BusPatrol photo enforcement technology to help protect students at bus stops.

The district said the enforcement program will launch on October 20.

As part of the safety initiative, district buses will be outfitted with photo enforcement technology to detect the license plates of vehicles that fail to stop for school buses. The video evidence is shared with local law enforcement for review before a notice of violation is issued.

“We are pleased to partner with Upper Dublin Township and the Upper Dublin Police Department to bring the BusPatrol program to our community,” said Upper Dublin Superintendent Dr. Laurie Smith. “Student safety is our highest priority, and this initiative strengthens the enforcement of existing laws that help prevent dangerous driving around school buses.”

Each school year, school buses are illegally passed an estimated 45.2 million times nationwide, putting students at risk. Through PennDOT’s Operation Safe Stop—a one-day enforcement and education effort—participating school districts and law enforcement agencies witnessed 131 violations of the law, down from the 177 reported last year.

Justin Meyers, President and Chief Innovation Officer at BusPatrol, said that the safety initiative is proven to make roads safer: “In other communities, the use of this technology has reduced instances of motorists recklessly disregarding school bus stop signs by over 40%. This significant reduction demonstrates how our program effectively changes behavior and contributes to safer roadways. We look forward to working with the Upper Dublin School District to make roads safer for all students.”

As stated by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, motorists must stop at least 10 feet away from school buses with red lights flashing and stop-arm extended. The penalty for each violation is $300.

To learn more about the program, you can click here.