HARDIN COUNTY, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Elizabethtown Police Department is urging drivers to slow down and pay attention, especially around stopped school buses.
Hardin County Schools, Elizabethtown Independent Schools, Elizabethtown Police Department and the Hardin County Attorney’s Office teamed up before school started to launch a safety awareness campaign.
“You may not pass a school bus that is stopped to load or unload children, and that is exactly what we’re cracking down on now,” Elizabethtown Police Ofc. John Thomas said. “We wanted to inform the public we’re going to be prosecuting this type of crime. We’re not going to tolerate it,” said Thomas.
However, school transportation and police department leaders said drivers are still not paying attention and breaking the law.
“People don’t pay attention," Hardin County Schools Transportation Director Chris Corder said. "It’s a problem, and I’m going to say it’s getting worse."
Police officers are patrolling school zones in order to ticket violators, and bus drivers also have the ability to document stop arm violations with the cameras installed on the buses. The cameras are rolling at all times with multiple angles. When a bus driver notices a violation, the driver simply has to hit a button on the dashboard and that will mark the video.
“We review the video,” Corder said. “If we get a good picture of the license plate and a description of the car and the driver, we turn it over to the county attorney and they do prosecute.”
There are 200 buses in the Hardin County Schools fleet. Corden said his drivers report around 20 violations each day to him.
Steve Smallwood, assistant superintendent for student support and services for Elizabethtown Independent Schools, said the district has 20 buses now after two brand new ones were delivered Friday. Those are the first buses in the smaller school district outfitted with camera technology. Smallwood said the district intends to upgrade the current buses as more funding comes available.
“Safety is our No. 1 priority,” Smallwood said. “Please slow down and pay attention. We all want to get home, but we want to get home safely.”
Thomas said, according to the law, a first violation is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $250 fine. The second violation is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $500 fine.
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