SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse school buses are now equipped with cameras to deter drivers from wrecklessly passing them when their stop signs are extended; it’s a rollout starting up about nine months late when compared to city hall’s initial timetable.
On Monday, April 21, 213 school buses with First Student – under contract with the Syracuse City School District – are hitting the streets with ‘stop arm cameras.’ The cameras are designed to automatically start recording when a car illegally passes a bus with its stop arm engaged, capturing up to ten seconds of film. German company Jenoptik is first in control of the footage. A spokesperson said that artificial intelligence will blur the faces of anyone but the driver involved; from there Jenoptik sends the footage to Syracuse Police, who will in turn determine if a ticket is warranted.
The rollout on Monday marks the start of a 30-day warning period; on May 21, real tickets will start to go out to drivers caught on these cameras. The Oneida County Sheriff’s Office started a similar program in 2023, ticketing nearly 1,000 drivers by the end of the 2023-24 school year…