The Chester Upland School District School Bus Safety Program combines education with enforcement to change motorist behavior and create a culture of awareness and responsibility around school buses.

Before the first ticket is issued, the program starts with an extensive PSA campaign. This campaign reminds motorists of school bus stopping laws and teaches children road safety tips for getting on and off the bus.

Campaign Overview

• Community awareness
• Child education
• Motorist education

This education and awareness activity continues after the program is live to continue educating our community for safer roads.   

In addition to stop-arm enforcement cameras, the Chester Upland School District fleet is now fully equipped with additional features to improve safety for students and drivers.

This includes:

• 360° safety cameras inside and outside the bus
• GPS tracking
• Emergency response solutions

All school buses that transport Chester Upland School District students are equipped with automated photo enforcement cameras on the side of school buses to capture violations and vehicle license plate numbers.

The violation is reviewed by law enforcement. Once approved, a notice of violation is sent to the registered vehicle owner by mail.

In Pennsylvania, a first-time stop-arm violation witnessed by a camera carries a fine of $300 and no license points.

In addition to the financial deterrent, violators learn about the potential dangers of their actions. Offenders can call the program's toll-free number at 1-800-852-7741 and speak with a representative who can review the video evidence and help them understand the dangers of illegal passing. Services are offered in both English and Spanish.

Data from other safety programs demonstrates that 98% of first-time offenders do not receive a second ticket, and 95% of drivers do not contest their ticket after seeing video evidence of their violation.

The diagram above represents the camera systems used in the district.

When a vehicle illegally passes a school bus with its red lights flashing, and stop-arm activated, a multi-lens camera box on the side of the bus captures the violation and the car's license plate from different depths and angles. The footage, GPS, and timecode data are stored locally on an onboard digital video recorder (DVR) unique to each bus. 

The incident data is sent via an encrypted LTE network to a secure cloud system, where it is filtered by artificial intelligence (AI) software before being reviewed by a trained safety specialist.

If the specialist determines the violation is an offense, the specialist prepares an evidence package for law enforcement. The package is built in accordance with State law, complete with video footage, license plate number, make, model, vehicle owner information, GPS location, and a timestamp of the incident. 

The evidence package is sent to law enforcement partners via a secure cloud portal. Law enforcement officers review the evidence package to approve. If approved, a notice of violation is mailed to the vehicle's owner, who is legally responsible for the violation per the law. The notice is issued with a link to the AlertBus Driver Education & Payment Portal. The vehicle owner can make a payment online, through the mail, or in person at a designated location within the jurisdiction. Notices of violation can also be contested through the relevant jurisdiction's civil court system. 

• Motorists must stop at least 10 feet away from school buses that have their red lights flashing and stop-arm activated.
• Motorists must stop when they are behind a bus, meeting the bus, or approaching an intersection where a bus is stopped.
• Motorists following or traveling alongside a school bus must also stop until the red lights have stopped flashing, the stop-arm is withdrawn, and all children have reached safety.
• If a physical barrier separates the roadways such as grassy medians, guide rails, or concrete median barriers separate oncoming traffic from the bus, motorists in the opposing lanes may proceed without stopping.
• Do not proceed until all the children have reached a place of safety.

For more information on school bus safety laws, refer to PennDOT.

To speak to a representative about a stop-arm violation, contact the AlertBus Customer Contact Center toll-free support line at 1-800-852-7741. 

• The Contact Center is available Monday- Friday (8 am – 5 pm)
  • English and Spanish-speaking customer service agents are available to address your inquiries.
  • To expedite our service, please have your citation number ready when you call. 

Online Access:

To view the violation video evidence online or to pay a violation by credit card, visit www.alertbus.com and enter your citation number (example: PA-777777) and vehicle license plate number (no dashes or spaces), as listed on your citation. 

• https://www.penndot.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx
• http://www.americanschoolbuscouncil.org/
• https://www.napt.org/
• The Law on Stop-Arm Automated Enforcement
• School Bus Stopping Law
• PDFs
  • Operation Safe Stop LEO
  • Operation Safe Stop Public
  • PA School Bus Safety Tips
  • PennDOT PA School Bus Stopping Law
  • School Bus Side Stop Signal Arm Enforcement Approval Requirement
  • School Bus Side Stop Signal Approved Vendors list