School Bus Cameras

If I read the KDH report of last night's City Council Workshop correctly, KISD asked the Council to consider an ordinance authorizing use of bus-mounted cameras to detect and record vehicles that illegally pass school buses stopped to pick up or drop off passengers.

On the surface, it sounds pretty good:

• Most of us are disgusted by drivers who engage in this behavior.  It's like speeding in a school zone.
• There's almost nothing we won't do to protect our children (except maybe ensure they have health care).
• In general, nobody likes a scofflaw.
• There's allegedly no up-front cost.

But the provider of the service stands to make a lot of money.  This article says that American Traffic Solutions takes 75% of fines from successful prosecutions based on camera evidence.  That seems excessive, and (in part because of the high fines associated with the misdemeanor) is an incentive for the service provider to maximize the number of citations.

It's probably a good idea, but the council needs to gather a lot of documentation before acceding to the school district's request.