Cleveland City Schools has partnered with Cleveland Police Department to launch Tennessee’s first school bus safety enforcement program with BusPatrol to tackle the pervasive issue of illegal school bus passings and protect students as they get on and off the school bus.
The program will begin with a 30-day warning period and public awareness campaign
starting this week. During this time, motorists will receive warning letters with no
monetary penalty. Official ticketing will begin Monday, February 23 and drivers who fail
to stop for a bus with its red lights flashing will face a $250 fine for a first offense, and
$500 for any subsequent offenses.
Through the program, 10 of the city’s school buses will be equipped with cutting-edge safety technology. This includes stop-arm cameras powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to detect when motorists fail to stop for a stopped school bus with its red lights flashing and stop-arm deployed. The evidence is shared with Cleveland Police Department for review before a citation is sent to the registered vehicle owner.
“Protecting our children is one of the most important responsibilities we have as a community,” said Chief Mark Gibson of the Cleveland Police Department. “This program allows us to use proven technology to identify violations, educate drivers, and ultimately prevent tragedies before they happen. Our officers fully support this effort to improve safety for our students.”
“The safety of our students is a responsibility we take seriously every single day,” said Dr. Jeff Elliott, Director of Schools for Cleveland City Schools. “This partnership with the Cleveland Police Department and BusPatrol is a proactive step to protect children when they are most vulnerable and to remind our community that stopping for school buses is not optional, it is a matter of student safety.”
Karoon Monfared, CEO at BusPatrol said, “This partnership with Cleveland City
Schools and the Cleveland Police Department represents a significant step forward for
student safety in Tennessee. By combining technology, education, and enforcement, Cleveland is setting a standard that can serve as a model for communities across the state to help keep students safe.”
Cleveland City Schools ran a pilot program with BusPatrol last school year on five
school buses, which identified over 1,000 potential violations in less than 4 months –
equivalent to more than 3 illegal passings per bus per day.
As stated by Tennessee state law, drivers must stop for a school bus that is stopped
with its stop signal activated. Drivers must remain stopped until the school bus resumes
motion, or the visual signals are no longer activated.