ROSSLYN FARMS, Pa, — An Allegheny County school district has become the latest to enter an agreement with a company running a controversial ticketing program.
The program uses AI-powered cameras to detect drivers violating the law, but as 11 Investigates has exposed, the tickets aren’t always accurate.
Carlynton joins the Pittsburgh City School District, East Allegheny, Deer Lakes, Norwin, and Penn Hills school districts in contracting with bus patrol.
Carlynton school officials believe this will provide an additional layer of protection for children as they travel to and from school, saying it will be up to local law enforcement as to whether or not a ticket will be issued, but we wanted to know if district leaders were aware of the concerns about bus patrol 11 investigates has reported.
Carlynton is the latest school district to partner with BusPatrol, with plans to install AI-powered cameras on more than 2 dozen school buses.
The purpose: catching drivers illegally passing school buses.
The superintendent talked about it during a meeting when the board voted on the plan.
“That video surveillance captures that person, captures their license plate number, as many details about that vehicle as possible,” Carlynton Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Krieder said.
But the question remains: just how accurate and effective is this technology?
Over the last few years, 11 Investigates has received dozens of complaints from drivers in Pittsburgh, saying they were wrongfully ticketed by the bus patrol system used by Pittsburgh Public Schools.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> PPS, BusPatrol make $2.7M in nine months from school bus camera tickets
Earlier this year, 11 Investigates reported that the majority of contested tickets in 2023 were thrown out by a judge.
One woman who was ticketed by PPS police told Channel 11 she was on the other side of a divided highway with a barrier when she drove past a school bus with its stop arm out, which is not illegal. She and roughly seven other vehicles, including another school bus, were ticketed.
Carlynton’s superintendent of schools told us, “All citations generated through the program will be reviewed and approved by our local police departments. Officials spent several months reviewing the Bus Patrol program with our solicitor, local law enforcement…transportation provider [and] consulted with other school districts before presenting it to the board.”
The district says under Pennsylvania law, the penalty for passing a stopped school bus is a $300 citation. Carlynton says of that money $250 goes to the school district, $25 to the local police department and $25 goes to the state’s school bus safety grant program.
Carlynton plans to install these cameras on buses over the next 4 to 6 weeks.
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