Mercer Island School Buses Equipped With Cameras

MERCER ISLAND, Wash. (AP) — The Mercer Island school district has outfitted some of its school buses with cameras to catch people who run through bus stop signs.

KIRO-TV reports that school bus drivers say they see several drivers run their stop signs every day.

The drivers try to jot down the model of the car and license plate number, but their focus is on the students.

They needed a more effective way to stop those drivers and opted for mounted cameras on the bus that are triggered when someone illegally drives past the stop arm.

Just before the school year started, five buses were outfitted with the cameras. Still photos are taken of the car, driver and the license plate.

There's also a video camera that records when a driver runs through the stop arm, so it will be difficult to fight the infraction and $394 ticket.