A student fatality near Toledo, Ohio, in January 2010 has resulted in pilot program that looks at the feasibility of using video cameras to catch in the act motorists who violate the state's law on illegally passing school buses.

Sylvania Schools currently has four of its 85 school buses equipped with the surveillance system that consists of one camera mounted inside the vehicle on the dashboard and two cameras mounted on the external stop arm to show the front and rear of the violating vehicle. Joe Kahl, director of transportation for Sylvania, explained the two external cameras are especially important because of the district's proximity to Michigan, where motorists are only required to have one license plate on their vehicles.

So far, the program has garnered "100 percent" support from the local Sylvania Police Department and the neighboring Toledo Police Department, but as of yet law enforcement is limited in how it can cite offenders. Kahl said police can send a letter to vehicle owners requiring them to appear at the police station to be informed their vehicle was captured illegally passing a stopped school bus and educated on the state law.

"Red light violators happen every day, but it's very, very difficult to catch them," Kahl said.

But the cameras are an improvement over forms that bus drivers must fill out completely and then submit to local police. Kahl added that it is "virtually impossible" for drivers to manage the safe crossing and loading or unloading of students while also monitoring traffic and writing down details on the make and model of a vehicle that passes the bus illegally and also note the license plate number and a physical description of the driver.

Meanwhile, using the pilot system, Kahl said drivers merely press a button above their heads that triggers an event recording when they see a driver about to pass the bus. Later, the event is downloaded on a transportation department computer and sent to the police.

While calling the stop arm cameras "a step in the right direction," the ability to issue citations and take violators to court is another matter that could require action by the state legislature, according to Pete Japikse, the director of transportation at the Ohio Department of Education. He said the camera resolution needs to improve so evidence can fully stand up in a court, and that could also serve as an impetus for the legislature to sanction bus stop arm cameras as well as to administer concrete penalties for violations upon conviction.

Kahl said another concern is the cost of the cameras, which can run in the ballpark of $2,000 per bus. The expense makes it cost prohibitive to install the systems on the rest of the fleet.