In 2019, there were an estimated 115 million cars on the road per day: driving to work, school, the grocery store, the works. But nearly 100,000 of those, wherever they were heading to, illegally passed a school bus when the stop-arm was extended.
According to the NASDPTS (National Association of State Directors of Student Transportation Services) over 95,000 cars were observed violating stop-arm laws by bus drivers from 39 states, in a single day. This 2019 data came as a shock to many, as the endangerment students face while boarding or getting off their bus is clear and staggering. But to companies like Safety Vision, a mobile video surveillance provider, these numbers only intensify their drive to create products that reduce and eliminate that risk.
For nearly 30 years, Safety Vision has been providing surveillance solutions to school districts all over the country. Their solutions are founded and based upon the needs of their customers, whom they routinely communicate with. Thus, their current solution provides the technology necessary for districts to document the incident and take further legal action depending on their local legislation.
And this is the standard. While many companies can provide the tools required to take legal action (recorded video with date, time, location) against stop-arm violators, many districts find it difficult to report the vast number of violations they witness per day to authorities, where it is then unprioritized.
“The solution works since it recreates the event that took place. The entire truth lies in the footage and all of the necessary data needed to take legal action is embedded in the video. You can even zoom in on the license plate,” said Frank Bowden, account executive at Safety Vision, “but that next step isn’t always taken. Not every single violation turns into a citation because how much is involved in the reporting process.”
When you examine the numbers previously discussed, the alarming number of reports districts would have to manually document is substantial. Since Safety Vision is devoted to alleviating their clients’ struggles, their current and paramount goal is clear: distribute a stop-arm solution that is entirely automated.
The goal is close to fruition. In Spring of 2021, Safety Vision will release their new stop-arm solution that alleviates district officials’ need to manually report violations. After pairing up with another vendor, Safety Vision’s solution will automatically manage the incidents – regardless of how many take place.
Once a violation occurs, the captured video footage is immediately offloaded from an Observer Series Recorder and sent to the partner vendor. From there, the citation is built, which includes images of the vehicle, license plate, the date, time, and location of the incident, the registered vehicle owner, and the recording. After it is completed, it’s electronically sent to the appropriate local law enforcement agency for approval. Upon approval, the citation is automatically mailed to the violator who can then pay the fine by mail or on the website.
But the automated process is not even the best part. The fact that the entire system can be monitored and observed by the local districts is. From the moment the footage is offloaded from the recorder, districts have access to a dashboard that shows exactly where the violation stands, step by step and minute by minute. It is a transparent way of relieving their struggle but still ensuring the violation is getting taken care of.
Though stop-arm violations are a rapid and daily occurrence, Safety Vision is confident that their new solution will not only reduce, but eventually diminish the event all together.
“It’s creating accountability. The more school districts have technology that can not only capture the violation, but also report and deliver the citation for them, the more people get caught. The more violators receive citations, the less likely they are to illegally pass a bus,” said Frank Bowden, who is confident in the new wave of safety arising.
Equally eager to enhance safety in the school bus industry in a way that has never been done before, Safety Vision is rolling out their last finishing touches on the solution. Keep your eyes out; reporting violations is about to get much easier.
Alicia Delgado is the marketing manager for Safety Vision, LLC. For more information, please visit www.safetyvision.com.