Have you ever waited at a school bus stop with your child and seen a car speed by, ignoring safety rules, as well as 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 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 which has built a technology allowing for key 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 to 98 percent of offenders don’t receive a second ticket and only 4.8 percent contest their ticket.

Why is that?

Because one can simply go online and see the video of the offense.

Authentic Violation Assessment is the BusPatrol camera attached on the side of the school bus which 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 couple in the Lehigh Valley.

According to Allentown Police 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.

So what about Salisbury? Is BusPatrol a factor to consider when driving on the roads of the township during school hours? It definitely will be this school year.

As Salisbury Township School District Superintendent Lynn Fuini-Hetten told The Press, BusPatrol is a technology she brought to the school board back in June, and it was quickly approved.

Fuini-Hetten said “as a district, we are focusing on the physical health and mental well-being of all of our Salisbury students. Making the bus ride safer for our students is one facet to this work. BusPatrol’s technology will assist with providing increased physical safety for our students who ride the bus.”

For Salisbury Township Police Chief Kevin Soberick, BusPatrol is a welcome addition to ensuring the safety of the younger members of our community.

“As the new school year starts, we always refocus on school bus safety and for drivers to be aware of the importance to pay attention when coming across a bus picking up or dropping students,” Soberick said.

Soberick added, “Salisbury Police Department participates in the enforcement wave of Operation Safe Stop during the beginning of each school year. Officers follow the bus routes and conduct enforcement when a driver passes a bus stop arm extended. We have several violations during the enforcement period every year.

“The BusPatrol technology allows this enforcement to continue every day the buses operate. The most important goal of the program is for driver compliance and to enhance the safety of the students.”

So be careful driving on the roads of the township, because as of Aug. 29, both Salisbury Police and BusPatrol will be actively working to ensure the safety of all Salisbury students going to and from school.