As everyone should be aware, it is vital that drivers be patient and obey all relevant traffic laws when in proximity to the big yellow buses that carry children to and from school. As we wrote in a previous post on this blog, some of the youngest passengers on these buses have the highest risk of being fatally injured in school bus-related accidents.
Traffic laws forbid motorists from passing any school bus that is stopped with its warning lights flashing and stop signal arm extended. However, what would prevent a negligent motorist from simply ignoring these signals and driving right by a school bus that has children exiting or boarding?
As a way to discourage drivers from executing such a dangerous maneuver, Illinois school buses are equipped with cameras to capture the behavior of motorists who drive near the buses. The cameras are located at the back and front ends of the bus and are activated upon the stop arm being extended.
The camera then captures footage of the vehicles near the bus. The high-definition cameras are able to pick up the license plate numbers of the nearby vehicles. If a driver violates the no-passing laws, a citation will be mailed to the owner of the vehicle in question.
The stop arm camera is a great tool for penalizing those who are willing to put children in jeopardy. It also gives incentive to all other drivers to stay alert near school buses and obey the no-passing law. What's more, captured footage could be used as evidence in the event of an accident.
A driver who is distracted, impaired or simply in a hurry is a hazard when near a school bus. Should your child be injured in a school bus related accident, your best chance of getting justice and compensation may be to have a personal injury attorney handle the case. The attorney could represent your interests by working with insurance companies and preparing a civil suit against the responsible party.