New Haven committee backs ordinance to let cameras on school bus stop arms to catch illegal passes

The Board of Alders’ legislation committee on June 10 advanced an ordinance to allow cameras on school-bus stop arms to detect and cite motorists who illegally pass stopped buses.

City lawyers and Transportation, Traffic and Parking staff said the proposal is based on Public Act 2024-107, which authorizes automated enforcement to deter vehicles from illegally passing stopped school buses. Assistant Corporation Counsel Michael Bullard told the committee the cameras would be mounted near the stop arm so they can photograph vehicles approaching and leaving a stopped bus. "The images are held for as long as required in order to adjudicate the ... They have to be destroyed after the later of 90 days from the date the image was created or 90 days after the final adjudication of an appeal," Bullard said.

Why it matters: City staff and bus drivers told the committee passing stopped school buses is a frequent, citywide safety problem that is difficult for police to enforce by observation alone. Supporters said automated enforcement is intended to change driver behavior and to give drivers and students more protection at school-loading zones.

How it would work: Eric Hoffman, deputy director of transportation, traffic and parking, said cameras would be attached to buses at a location that can capture vehicles passing from the front or overtaking from the rear. The cameras would activate when the bus’s flashing yellow and then red lights cycle on; the systems he described store multiple images (approach and departure) and upload them to cloud or vendor servers for adjudication. Hoffman added vendors generally transmit images over cellular networks and that devices typically retain local data if connectivity drops.

Fines, appeals and limits: The ordinance follows the state law’s administrative framework. Bullard said camera-captured violations will be treated under an administrative process; the fine for a camera-based school-bus violation would be $250. The legislature’s language, Bullard said, prevents the camera-based violation from being used to assess motor-vehicle points or for insurance or other criminal, civil or administrative proceedings. The city would also appoint hearing officers as allowed under state statute for appeals from camera citations.

Open questions committee members raised: Alders pressed staff for details about storage, chain of custody, timeline and cost. Staff said image retention is limited to 90 days after creation or 90 days after final adjudication; images may only be used for this violation. The city has not finalized costs or a vendor; staff said the intention is for fines collected to fund or offset the system and that detailed procurement and contract approvals would follow. Committee members asked whether a motorist spotted and ticketed by a police officer could face both a state police-issued ticket (reported at $475 in committee discussion) and the city $250 camera fine; staff said that policy remains to be resolved by the administration.

Public comment and driver testimony: Two bus drivers testified in support, describing repeated incidents in which drivers observed cars run stop arms or flashing lights while children were loading or unloading. "I've had to console drivers because they witnessed their student almost getting hit," said Sharad Rogers (First Student, assistant location manager). Another driver, Eric Tino, said the incidents are "nerve wracking" and widespread across routes. Those speakers urged the committee to give the city additional tools to enforce compliance.

Next steps and timeline: Staff said an optimistic deployment target would be September 2025 but revised expectations put an initial rollout "onward from September 2025," and that statutory reporting to the Connecticut Department of Transportation would follow the state's schedule (reporting not later than Oct. 1 in the year after adoption). The committee moved the ordinance forward to the full Board of Alders.

Ending: The ordinance advanced with committee support. Staff will return with procurement details, an implementation schedule and clarifications about how city- and police-issued citations will interact before final authorization of contracts or memoranda of understanding.