HALL COUNTY, Ga. — It’s the first day of school for students in Hall County. This year, the school district and sheriff’s office are aggressively going after drivers who pass stopped buses, putting students at risk.
Hall County Schools has equipped 50 buses with stop-arm cameras and plans to put them on more buses as soon as possible.
Stopping for a school bus with the stop arm extended is state law, but school officials say drivers violate it every day.
Last year, to crack down on violators, the school system installed high-tech cameras on 16 buses.
Each bus had three cameras with video sent directly to the sheriff’s office for deputies to review.
When the stop sign is deployed, three cameras start recording.
The upper camera is AI-powered and can detect a violation. Then, a 20-second video clip is automatically sent to the sheriff’s office.
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“We had it on four buses, and it averaged about 25 violations a day,” Hobbs said.
Driver Joey Johnston said he’s alarmed by how many people ignore school bus stop signs.
The situation is so bad that he kept a journal to account for every violator.
“For the year 2024-25, I had 456 people run my stop sign,” Johnston said. “They got to understand they are putting our children’s lives in danger.”
The school system is confident the cameras will be a deterrent for those thinking of running a school bus stop sign.
Captain Michael Mount of the Hall County Sheriff’s Office said during the warning phase last year, he realized the courts lacked the manpower to handle the citations that would be issued.
But he said officials have worked out the logistics and he’s confident about catching more violators this year.