The company contracted to install cameras on New York school buses, intended to catch motorists disregarding traffic laws to stop while a bus is loading or unloading students, is reconsidering its automated ticketing system following judicial pushback.
According to an Albany County official, tickets generated by this system were invalidated by an appeals court. The appellate court, in three instances, ruled that the camera recordings failed to offer adequate proof, leading to the dismissal of cases from Suffolk County, the latest being on February 8th.
A judge in Colonie dismissed all cases related to bus-camera-ticket trials recently, with each dismissal hinging on the absence of proof. The lack of evidence was crucial in appellate court’s decision which ruled that the photographic evidence only conclusively showed that the defendant’s car was near a camera at some point in time, but did not prove the cameras was mount on a authorized vehicle (a school bus) which was stopped, loading with flashers on; and the defendant was operating a vehicle disregarding the visible signal to stop.
BusPatrol, the company that produces and markets the camera system absorbs an estimated $10,000 per vehicle cost to install the system on a school bus in lieu of a revenue-share with a municipality. It is reported BusPatrol’s take is 45% ($112.50) for each ticket, of a $250 fine sent via mail directly to the owner of a vehicle, who is financially responsible even if they were not the driver at the time of the incident.
Most motorists plead guilty, paying the fine instead of fighting the school bus ticket in court. It is unknown how many thousands of car owners have already paid the fine which would have eventually been thrown out by the appellate court if the car owner had continued to contest the legality of the ticket.
There is also no indication New York municipalities will be refunding fines already collected from guilty pleas.