Peabody Bus Camera Program Shows Many Drivers Failing to Stop for School Buses

In just six weeks, the Peabody BusPatrol pilot program caught 865 drivers illegally passing school buses while they were picking up or dropping off children. Maria Scheri, founder of S.T.O.P. The Operator from Passing, said she was "sadly, not surprised" by the results, but "shocked" that there have not been more tragedies.

PEABODY, MA — Maria Scheri said she was, sadly, not surprised by camera footage that revealed nearly a thousand violations of the state law requiring drivers to stop for school buses picking up and dropping off students in Peabody in just the first six weeks of the new school year.

Maria Scheri, founder of the organization S.T.O.P. The Operator from Passing, is now hoping that the data collected by the Peabody BusPatrol pilot program will convince the Massachusetts legislature to pass stalled legislation that would allow bus camera footage to be used to ticket drivers who illegally pass school buses.

"Under the current law, a police officer must witness a school bus stop arm violation in order to issue a citation," Scheri said. "But it's not realistic to have police officers following all 30 school buses in Peabody every day."

Massachusetts is a leader in education and learning, so why can't we use the technology we have to protect our students and children?

The Peabody School Committee decided to initiate the pilot program in the previous spring, following a series of incidents at the beginning of the last school year where students sustained injuries due to drivers neglecting to halt for school buses. Additionally, Mayor Ted Bettencourt established the School Safety Task Force, with Scheri serving as its co-chair.

A news conference was held at Peabody's Higgins Middle School on Thursday to release the data from the pilot program, which showed that there were 865 school bus stop arm violations from September 1 to October 30, or an average of 3.6 violations per bus per day.

"I'm not surprised by the results, given what I've seen in other states," Scheri said. "But I'm shocked that there haven't been more tragedies. I've seen the footage of children dodging cars that don't stop for school buses."

BusPatrol found that the most dangerous week for school bus stop arm violations was the first full week of school, from September 11 to September 15. During that week, there were 184 violations recorded in just five days, for an average of 3.8 violations per bus per day.

"It's a disturbing reality that school buses are being passed almost four times per bus per day," Karoon Monfared, CEO of BusPatrol, said on Thursday. "This is one of the highest violation rates that we've seen in the country. It takes an average of 30 seconds to stop behind a bus and allow a child to get on or off safely."

Together with Peabody Public Schools, parents, and educators across the state, we urge lawmakers to pass common-sense legislation to protect our children from reckless drivers.

Scheri is hopeful that the video evidence from BusPatrol will help to pass the legislation that has been stalled on Beacon Hill for about a decade, which would allow bus camera footage to be used to enforce violations.

"It's different when you see it happening in your own backyard," Scheri told Patch. "Some of these lawmakers drive down Margin Street themselves. It's not just some abstract concept or something that happens in other states."

There is no excuse for passing a stopped school bus. The bus has flashing lights and a stop sign, and the back of the bus says "unlawful to pass." We need to stop blaming bus drivers and children for these incidents. The only people to blame are the drivers who choose to ignore the law and put children at risk.

Twenty-five other states have passed laws that allow bus camera footage to be used to issue citations to drivers who pass stopped school buses.

Scheri is pleased that Peabody has taken a leading role on this issue over the past year, but she believes it is time for other communities to join in the fight to pressure lawmakers to take action.

"This problem is not just happening in Peabody," Scheri said. "It's happening all over the state. We need a mass movement to demand change."

"Enough is enough."