Sen. Bartolotta Reminds Motorists Of New School Bus Camera Law To Improve Student Safety

HARRISBURG – Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-46) is reminding motorists of a recent state law that allows school districts to equip school buses with stop-arm cameras to detect the license plates of drivers who fail to stop for school buses. Under legislation Bartolotta helped implement, the video evidence will be shared with local law enforcement for review before a citation is issued. In the past, the School Bus Passing Law has been notoriously hard to enforce, as school bus drivers have had to quickly collect pertinent detailed information about the incident, while performing their duties, or law enforcement had to catch a motorist committing a violation. Bartolotta and Sen. Pat Browne (R-16) worked jointly on an amendment to House Bill 364 (now Act 38), which contained important new provisions intended to build upon the legislature’s previous School Bus Camera Law (Act 159 of 2018). The new law provided a structure, utilized widely in other states, for stop arm camera companies to enter into contracts with school districts and local police to provide their services free-of-charge in exchange for part of the revenue generated by the fine.