School Bus Fleet, July 2015

42 SCHOOL BUS FLEET JULY 2015 Now being on Candid Camera is common BY STEVE SIMMONSTraffic Safety Administration that buses not just have cameras but certain kinds of cameras Recommendation H 15 2 states Encourage your members to ensure that any onboard video system in their vehicles provides visibility of the driver and of each occupant seating location visibility forward of the vehicle optimized frame rate and low light recording capability NAPT immediately shared this recommendation with its members through our email Dispatch and we encouraged them as we do now to everyone reading this article to consider this NTSB recommendation as they research camera technology for their buses Though decisions about installing cameras and other safety and security equipment not required by federal regulations are made by local officials based on community circumstances budgets and other factors the needs of school bus operations seem to be extraordinary Documenting student and driver behavior knowing who is standing at a bus stop and documenting the illegal passing of stopped school buses are critical aspects of everyones operation regardless of where you live or the size of your fleet NAPT and the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services have invited NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart to speak at the NAPT Summit in Richmond Virginia in November and he has agreed to be there We expect that in his remarks he will expand on NTSB Recommendation H 15 2 and other NTSB initiatives Finally the trade show at the NAPT Summit in Richmond is the best place to learn about the latest in cameras and other school bus safety and security products Come see the technology for yourself Many of us recall the olden days when Allen Funts hilarious TV show Candid Camera was a big hit The show involved concealed cameras filming ordinary people being confronted with unusual situations The producers would use props like a car without a motor or a roll with a string attached or an unanswerable telephone to play a joke on someone When the joke was revealed victims would be told the shows catchphrase Smile youre on Candid Camera Little did we know then that being on a candid camera eventually would be commonplace Today being on camera video that is happens all the time On a personal level cell phones and tablets are used to document everything we do some of which is shared instantly with family and friends or posted for the world to see on Internet social media sites Government and business cameras are also omnipresent Federal and state buildings shopping centers banks entertainment venues airports and many more have video cameras recording everything Next time youre stopped at a traffic light look up and you might see one or more cameras aimed at you and your vehicle to record traffic flow and infractions like running a red light Cameras on satellites can reputedly even read your license plate from space To paraphrase the old saw These days you can run but its really hard to hide Privacy advocates often protest the intrusion but the camera tide would be hard to turn back Concern about terrorism following 9 11 changed the privacy paradigm Pupil transportation is no exception to the camera trend Our industry long ago began installing cameras in buses Today many of the nations 450000 school buses are equipped with state of the art cameras that do more than ever before Its a technology we have embraced and welcome Cameras help local officials get it right when there are questions about driver and student conduct aboard buses actions at school bus stops and the behavior of other motorists when a school bus is loading or discharging students One such incident went viral on the Internet recently In Graham Washington an SUV passed a stopped school bus on the right and nearly ran down several children who were in motion to board the bus The bus was equipped with a camera aimed at the boarding steps and it recorded the near tragedy with jaw dropping footage The SUV missed the children by just inches Fortunately they reacted in time jumping backward as the vehicle raced by Witnesses say the driver didnt even slow down ignoring the school bus with lights flashing Police and citizens were using the video footage to try to identify the driver and to foster a broader discussion about not passing stopped school buses with lights flashing This type of reckless endangerment should not go unpunished At the federal level the National Transportation Safety Board NTSB uses footage from school bus cameras extensively The footage helps the agency evaluate a variety of factors and is particularly useful in crash reconstruction Thats why the NTSB recently issued a recommendation to NAPT other industry trade associations camera suppliers motor carrier operators and the National Highway Steve Simmons is acting president elect of NAPT and director of transportation for Columbus Ohio City Schools NAPT news views