District wants cameras on buses

“District wants cameras on buses”
Austin American Statesman (A1), Oct. 7, 2013

 



2.      Category of Problem/Issue: Children/Public Safety

3.      Level of Problem/Issue: Local

4.      A potential policy that is being considered to help a problem/issue that individuals/families face.

5.      This is important to the families of Lake Travis because it affects the safety of their children who are going to school. Drivers who are ignoring simple traffic regulations are putting children in serious danger, like the 10 year old who was killed in Lake Travis.

6.      It is extremely easy for drivers to get distracted while driving. Simple acts like texting on the cell phone, eating while driving, or simply changing the radio station causes people behind the wheel to get distracted very easily. Because of these distractions, drivers are violating the most important traffic laws out there- including stopping when a school bus is loading and unloading children. I think it is a great idea for Lake Travis to put cameras on their school buses! Just like with cameras on stop lights, people should be ticketed for not stopping when a school bus has signaled to do so. A pilot program showed that in a 90 day period, there were 91 violations in Lake Travis. Those violations could potentially cause 91 lives lost, or about 1 child killed a day. That is way too many! Additionally, if someone were to receive a ticket through the mail, it would only be $300. Yes, that seems like a steep price to pay, but it is better than being stopped by a police officer where you could receive up to $1250 in fines. I am not a parent, yet, but I feel like putting my kid on a school bus would cause a great deal of anxiety (especially after hearing about a 10 year old boy being struck by a vehicle because they simply ignored a stop sign). Knowing that there are cameras on these school buses in order to catch the negligent drivers would make me feel a little more relief when sending my child off to school each day.