Published: April 22, 2006 12:19 am            

Camanche hopes cameras will keep drivers honest

CAMANCHE — It shouldn’t be hard to see a giant yellow school bus with flashing lights and a stop sign protruding from the side, but some people illegally pass when the buses are stopped, putting young children in danger.

That’s why the Camanche School District is buying a school bus stop sign camera — to catch culprits on film and help police crack down on such drivers.

The school board approved the purchase of the camera at Monday night’s meeting.

“Unfortunately, we have people that disregard a school bus stop sign,” said Camanche Superintendent Tom Parker. He said it happens too often and is a big concern in the district.

“Our primary focus is on the safety of the kids,” Parker said. “Our hope is that his will serve as a deterrent for those who would run a school bus stop sign and provide additional safety for our students.”

The idea came when Transportation Director Gary Parker was reading a professional journal. He happened across a story about an Iowa school that installed the cameras and saw a significant decrease in the drive-by offenders and was able to successfully prosecute the criminals because they were caught on tape.

“It significantly reduced stop sign running,” he said.

“After we researched it, we decided it would be a good thing for us to consider,” Tom Parker said.

The camera is mounted to the stop sign and automatically turns on when the sign is extended. Two lenses pointed in each direction get pictures of drivers who illegally pass a school bus and provide police with the license plate number and a description of the car, not to mention photographic proof of the offense, which aids in prosecution.

Gary Parker said it often is hard for bus drivers to get the license plate number from the vehicle because they are carefully watching the kids. By the time a car speeds past, it is too late to get the vehicle information.

“It’s awful hard to get the license plate numbers when people go by on the highway that fast,” Gary Parker said. “Now the driver won’t have to try to write it down.”

“With this camera on the stop sign we’ll have it on tape, which will help us when we make our report to the police,” Tom Parker said.

Camanche Police Chief Robert Houzenga said the camera will help keep students safe and make sure those who violate the law are punished.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” he said. “Just by its very presence I think violations will decrease and it will help us be able to prosecute the offenders.”

Houzenga said failure to obey a school bus warning device is a simple misdemeanor punishable by a $100 fine plus surcharge and court costs equaling $162.

The camera costs approximately $2,500 and will be paid for as a Physical Plant and Equipment Levy expenditure. It will be mounted on one bus by the beginning of the fall semester. If the district is pleased with the results more cameras may be added.

Also at Monday’s meeting, Tom Parker announced the district has been awarded a Harkin Grant that will pay for the installation of an exterior door and handicapped accessible ramp for the stage in the Camanche Middle School gym. He said during an inspection last year, the fire marshal determined the gym needed a second exit door. Parker said the grant was applied for last fall and school officials found out in late March the grant had been awarded. The door and ramp are expected to cost approximately $22,000 and the grant will cover the entire cost.

“We’re pleased to have been awarded the grant and obviously we’ll put it to good use,” he said.

        

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