KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Students in Kalamazoo can expect bus rides to be a little different this year.
School buses will be equipped with security cameras meant to capture speeding vehicles that don’t stop when buses drop off and pick up children.
Police will then be informed of violators, which will result in traffic tickets for the drivers responsible.
Superintendent Dr. Darrin Slade tells us the cameras are in the interest of maintaining the safety of the district's students.
"I don't care how much it costs,” says Dr. Slade. “Our goal is to keep students safe. … Across the country every year, people are hurt riding buses and we wanted to make sure that did not happen in Kalamazoo."
Officer Hunter Bagley with Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety (KDPS) says the cameras offer more efficient reporting in lieu of relying on drivers to catch offenders.
“Before the cameras, it was always just dependent on the bus driver if they got the full license plate or not, or if one of us just happened to be there nearby to where we could stop them,” Officer Bagley explains. “They'll notify, ‘Hey, this license plate just drove by me,’ and then we can go back and look.”
The school district also raised bus drivers’ wages by a significant margin in an effort to combat a nationwide shortage.
READ MORE: Kalamazoo Public Schools give bus drivers a pay bump
