Have you ever waited at a school bus stop with your child and seen a car speed by, ignoring safety rules as well the bus stop sign?

That is exactly what happened one morning four years ago when Amber Clarke was waiting with her daughter Olivia Clarke-Ortiz and a friend at the corner bus stop on 14th and Allen streets in Allentown.

In this case, the car nearly hit Clarke’s daughter, who was in her first days of kindergarten at Arts Academy Charter School. However, what angered her the most was the fact the driver, who was on his cellphone, looked back and laughed. Clarke told The Press she was surprised when the crossing guard told her there was no point in raising the issue with anyone because “no one cares.”

For Clarke, that was unacceptable.

She began taping cars rushing past stopped school buses, ignoring stop signs and clearly putting school-aged children at risk.

Clarke then started knocking on doors, trying to gather support. She told The Press things started moving when she went to state Sen. Pat Browne, R-16th, who not only listened to her, but helped her move the issue front and center in Harrisburg.

Together, with Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-132nd, and Rep. Peter Schweyer, D-22nd, Clarke and Browne worked tirelessly to get the message out that something had to be done to strengthen existing laws, ensuring the safety of school-aged children.

“The safety and security of our children is of utmost importance. Children must be safe at school, as well as to and from school,” Browne said at a news conference Aug. 24 at South Mountain Middle School, 709 W. Emaus Ave., Allentown.

On July 1, 2020, Gov. Tom Wolf signed the bill introduced by Browne and state Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-46th, to strengthen the school bus stop arm law.

This is where BusPatrol comes into play.

BusPatrol is a company that has built a technology allowing for strategically placed cameras on school buses to capture driving safety violations, leading to ticketing.

As Jean Souliere, founder of BusPatrol, told The Press, “This is about safety and ensuring that violators are not repeat offenders.”

On that latter point, Souliere claims 96-98% of offenders don’t receive a second ticket and only 4.8% contest their ticket.

Why is that? Because one can simply go online and see the video of the offense.

The Authentic Violation Assessment is the BusPatrol camera attached on the side of the school bus that can record the traffic violations. It is quickly becoming a tool of choice for many districts across the United States and has the endorsement of local police departments, including a few in the Lehigh Valley.

According to Allentown Police Department Chief Charles Roca, BusPatrol is a great initiative. Roca said this technology will hopefully deter drivers from ignoring the law and help promote safety at all school bus stops.

“As a community, we need to come together and ensure we are keeping our children safe,” Roca said.

His hope is more districts will see the merit of this technology, helping hold violators accountable and children safe.