SALEM, MASS. (WHDH) – The Salem Public Schools and the City of Salem will soon participate in a study aimed at identifying when and where cars illegally pass stopped school buses within city limits, officials announced.
Running in partnership with the company BusPatrol, the study will involve placing “AI-powered” cameras on the Salem schools’ entire bus fleet. Once installed, officials said, the cameras will capture video and data on incidents of cars passing stopped buses, known as stop-arm violations.
“Not only will this provide a window into the scope of this problem in Salem, the data will also help shape enforcement strategies by our police department,” said Mayor Dominick Pangallo in a statement.
Salem’s school bus safety study will be the second of its kind in Massachusetts, following a similar study in Peabody. The Peabody study, which ended earlier this month, saw crews place cameras on 10 school buses. Between September and May, officials said, the cameras recorded nearly 3,500 stop-arm violations.
Pangallo said officials in Salem started discussions earlier this year with bus drivers and with BusPatrol to explore ways Salem could conduct a study like the one in Peabody.
In announcing Salem’s version of the bus safety study, Pangallo said the city is committed to delivering safe roadways for all, “especially for students and children.”
“Ultimately, our hope is the Commonwealth will give communities more flexibility in using these tools for enforcement, and not just studies,” he said.
Drivers who pass a stopped school bus with its stop-arm extended in Massachusetts can be fined $250. But police can’t legally give out tickets unless they witness the offense.
With safety in mind, officials and advocates in Peabody and beyond have pushed for legislation that would allow police to issue tickets based on cameras like the ones used in recent BusPatrol studies.
In Salem, officials said their study results “will be used…
