The transportation department is currently testing cameras that will take pictures of cars that run the stop arms, which are the stop signs on the side of the bus that open when the bus stops to let students on or off, according to Ron Farrand, director of facilities and transportation. The first of these cameras was installed this past summer, and currently 11 buses have them.

“There’s a large number of people that run the stop arms every day, and while that doesn’t necessarily affect the safety of the driver, it affects the safety of the students that that driver is trying to get to and from school safely. When people ignore our stop arms, that just puts students’ lives in jeopardy,” Farrand said.

These new cameras work only when the stop arm is extended, and will hopefully be able to take pictures of any offending vehicle’s license plate number, which will then be turned into the police department. Depending on the success rate of capturing license plate numbers, these cameras may or may not be installed on all school buses.

“It probably will not stop cars from running stop arms, but if they work successfully we will have photo evidence of the vehicle,” Farrand said.

Nathan Fei, frequent bus rider and freshman, said that he believes these new cameras will help lower the number of people who run the stop arms. “I think that they would be helpful because the police would be able to enforce the law,” Fei said. “With the introduction of the new cameras, I think that the law enforcement can not only catch people running the bus stop sign, but can also use this to discourage running the stop sign.”