DERBY – Members of the school board voted unanimously Feb. 3 to ask that cameras be placed on buses to deter drivers from passing stopped school buses.

Elected members of the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen (BOAA) could talk about the proposal at an upcoming meeting. In Derby, only the BOAA can sign contracts.

The move comes after a mom from Derby Avenue posted two videos in January to the Derby CT Community Forum on Facebook showing vehicles blatantly passing stopped school buses.

The two videos are posted together below. The Valley Indy zoomed in on the offenders in the videos.

One of the videos is especially egregious, and was specifically mentioned by Derby Public Schools Superintendent Matthew Conway.

It shows a bus stopped with a vehicle stopped behind it. A white vehicle passes the stopped vehicle, then passes the school bus on the passenger’s side, where kids are let out.

Conway said the driver spotted the car coming and didn’t open the door to let the kids out.

Brad MacDowall is a community partnership sales manager with Buspatrol, a company that has installed bus-arm cameras throughout Connecticut, including Bridgeport, Danbury, and Shelton.

He walked school board members through his company’s technology and pricing.

He said neither school nor the city has to pay for the service. The company makes its money by taking a cut of the tickets issued. Passing a school bus is a $250 fine. MacDowell said the company takes $250 per bus, then $65 of every ticket collected.

Any other money from tickets goes to the municipality, and the money must go toward public safety, according to state law.

When a car is caught on video passing a stopped school bus letting off kids, two people review the video to determine whether it is a violation. A $250 ticket is generated and sent to the vehicle’s registered owner if a violation is determined.

If a driver wants to fight the ticket, a hearing process is set up locally by the municipal government.

The promotional video below gives a summary of how the cams catch drivers.

Before the cameras are operational, the company does a media blitz to let the public know they are coming. 

Cities also have the option of instituting a 30-day grace period where offending drivers are issued a warning.

School board member Kimberly Tovar questioned the wisdom of a grace period.

“They’re breaking the law,” she said.

MacDowell said the 30 days is optional, but that it gives time to work out any issues.

MacDowell also said local governments should not look at the bus cams as a revenue generator. Derby may see a “windfall” for a year or so, but the ultimate goal is to improve safety and cut down on vehicles passing school buses illegally.

He said Bridgeport saw a 40 percent reduction in tickets after the first year.

Derby school board chairman Ken Marcucio asked what happens if the company doesn’t issue enough tickets to cover their costs.

“The program will always, for better or worse, pay for itself,” MacDowell said.

Marcucio also said that at dismissal on the high school/middle school campus he has seen buses line up with just one bus displaying a stop sign while other buses do not have the stop sign arm extended. Parents picking up kids sometimes pass the buses, insinuating the cams would be ticketing school parents.

MacDowell said the scenario could be improved through driver training. In addition, he said the tech can be programmed so that tickets aren’t issued in specific areas.

The state created a law in 2024 that allows the bus cams to operate with municipalities, including the issuance of a $250 fine. Click here to read an analysis of the law.

In addition to signing a contract that spells out all procedures and costs, the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen would also have to pass a local ordinance allowing the bus cams to happen.

A weakness – there aren’t many options if a motorist decides not to pay the fine. Currently the law does not allow unpaid bus cam tickets to be attached to vehicle registrations.

Towns or cities could use a third-party debt collection company to go after scofflaws. Those companies usually take their own cut of any fines.

MacDowell equated the tickets to parking tickets issued by a parking authority.

Derby Deputy Police Chief Brian Grogan was in attendance at the school board meeting remotely. He said the department is looking over Buspatrol’s proposal. 

He also said the community should not look at the program as a money maker.

“Think of it as a way to change behavior, a deterrent,” Grogan said.