DEPARTMENT: Police Department
DEPARTMENT HEAD: William P. McManus, Chief of Police
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
School Bus Arm Camera Program Update
SUMMARY:
On June 30, 2016, City Council unanimously approved an ordinance that established civil penalties for school bus arm violations and allowed area school districts to implement school bus camera programs to identify and issue citations for violations. Since adoption of the ordinance, a total of five area school districts have implemented school bus camera programs: Judson ISD, North East ISD, South San ISD, Southside ISD and Southwest ISD.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
SAPD Enforcement
In addition to the 262 school crossing guards assigned to schools throughout the city, the SAPD routinely deploys Traffic, Patrol and SAFFE personnel to monitor traffic conditions in and around school campuses throughout the school year to ensure the safety of children and parents as they walk to and from campus. Since 2016, a total of 25,433 citations have been issued by the Department for school-related traffic violations as detailed in the table below:
Violation
2016
2017
2018 YTD
Failure to Obey School Crossing Guard/Police Officer
40
39
26
Passing Stopped School Bus
71
45
45
Speeding in School Zone
7,266
12,249
4,992
Speeding in School Zone - Construction Zone |10101010|Use of a Wireless Communication Device
161
344
142
TOTALS
7,543
12,682
5,208
Ordinance Overview
The ordinance establishes a $300.00 civil penalty for school bus stop-arm violations and authorizes interested school districts to implement bus camera programs to identify and issue citations to motorists who illegally pass stopped school buses. However, the ordinance prohibits the issuance of an arrest warrant for violations, inclusion of the violation on driving records and the reporting of unpaid fines to a collection agency.
School districts are required to implement an appeals process that offers persons cited...
Click here for full text