BSD bus paddle cameras record 107 violations in first month

BSD surprised by high violation number; hopes number will decrease in following months.

By Madison Miller • February 22, 2019 1:30 am

The Bellevue School District (BSD) bus paddle cameras have been in effect for longer than a month. In the first 30 days, 107 violations were recorded.

With more people moving to Bellevue, traffic also is increasing and more drivers are neglecting to stop when a school bus puts out its stop paddle.

“It is terrifying when a car flies by and you’re loading kids in and you’re like, ‘Whoa, that was close!’” Mark Hazen, the director of transportation with BSD, said.

The high-resolution cameras are attached to the exterior of the school buses and detect vehicles that pass when the bus’s stop paddle is extended. The cameras record an image and video of the passing vehicle’s license plate as well as the extended paddle.

Last September, BSD announced it was adopting the bus paddle cameras to better protect students. The cameras were installed in October. BSD held a grace period from Dec. 3 through Dec. 21 where violators of bus safety laws received a warning and not a citation.

The cameras went into full effect on all 27 buses on Jan. 7.

Each violation results in a $419 ticket, issued by King County District Court.

Melissa deVita, deputy superintendent of finance and operations for BSD, said she was surprised the number of violations in the paddle cameras’ first month of operation was so high.

“I’m surprised that it was that many. We put out a lot effort to get the word out that this was happening,” she said.

BSD worked to provide educational resources for drivers on what to do when they see a school bus, such as spreading an informational graphic.

BSD issued this graphic to inform drivers when to stop for a school bus. Photo courtesy of Bellevue School District.

deVita said she hopes the number of violations will diminish over the following months.

“I really hope the number goes down as the months go on,” she said. “It’s all about the kids’ safety, and we want to do everything we can to help protect them.”

She said she hopes as people receive violations they will inform others and the “roads will become safer for everyone.”