Use of Bus Cameras to Catch School Zone Violators Growing

Some say it's a great tool, others say it's a violation of 'rights' and entrapment.

Although some districts have experimented with their use, and others actually use them, the discussion has resumed over the idea of using school bus cameras to photograph and actually issue tickets to drivers has heated up.

It's already being done in Lauderdale County, Florida, and last year the Spanaway, WA school district put cameras on five buses, but they were NOT used for law enforcement purposes.  According to Spanaway officials, they saw 139 recorded incidents in just 55 days last year, where drivers pulled out and drive around buses that were stopped with red lights flashing and the stop sign deployed. Their information was used in public relations campaigns to remind drivers to follow school zone and bus safety laws.

However, in the Kaufman School District, which is in the Dallas, Texas area, they've had an actual contracted program where buses were equipped with actual cameras who's footage was used to prosecute school zone violators. Begun in 2013, the district last fall began to re-evaluate the program.

Dwindling support for the plan and opposition from drivers was cited as one of the reasons for the re-evaluation. Since the plan began, two of the school board officials who pushed for the program have lost their seats in elections, which has not gone unnoticed by school board officials.

CBS news reports there's renewed calls around the country for such programs to be used to actually videotape and prosecute school zone violators. Supporters say growing numbers of accidents involving children merit the idea.