GOP State Rep. Robert Goforth, of East Berstadt, has prefiled a bill that would require installation of stop-arm cameras on all school buses in Kentucky.
The law would impose a $200 fine on violators for a first offense, and a $500 fine for a second or greater offense within a three-year period.
“As a father, and as a legislator, I am committed to doing all I can to protect Kentucky’s children as they are transported to and from school, and I believe this is legislation whose time has come,” Goforth said in a press release on the proposal. “We’ve had some of the worst possible tragedies imaginable on Kentucky school buses both in the recent and distant past, and out of those awful occurrences, we’ve learned that we must be proactive in ensuring pupil transportation safety so that we do all in our power to protect precious lives,” Goforth said.
According to Goforth, a 2018 survey by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, over 20 percent of school bus drivers in 38 states, plus the District of Columbia, found that nearly 83,944 vehicles passed 108,623 buses illegally on a single day last school year. That number increased from just over 78,000 vehicles in 2017 and over 74,000 in 2016.
In-state statistics show that illegal passing is a problem in practically every county and school district in Kentucky.
“As law enforcement attempt to catch and identify motorists who illegally pass buses, they can turn to a variety of stop-arm camera system suppliers, which offer devices that not only capture an image of the violation but make compiling and submitting evidence easier,” Goforth said.
Some suppliers provide districts the option of leasing the equipment in exchange for collecting a percentage of the fines recovered from enforcing the violations, essentially at no up-front costs to the districts, according to Goforth.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com or 270-259-6000
