The County and Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) are partnering to introduce a school bus arm camera program designed to deter drivers from passing stopped school buses, thereby protecting the vulnerable children getting on and off these vehicles.
In 2010, National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASPTS) passed a resolution initiating the first national survey to determine the prevalence of illegal passing of school buses. For example, the 2019 survey found that on a single day during the 2018-19 school year, over 95,000 vehicles illegally passed school buses across 39 states, which extrapolates to millions of violations annually nationwide. According to the FCPS News Center, May 10, 2025 released, that in 2017, a School Safety and Security Council white paper on school bus safety found that FCPS school bus drivers, who are periodically asked to count how many stop arm violations they encounter, reported a collective 1,453 violations in a single day.
These violations often occur despite the extended stop arms and flashing red lights designed to protect children boarding or alighting from buses. Many drivers ignore the stop arm signals and flashing red lights, which are there to alert road users to the presence of children. To address this critical issue, the new program will install 50 bus camera systems throughout the county. These systems will function automatically, capturing footage of vehicles that illegally pass stopped buses, allowing for enforcement of the law.
The program started on April 9, 2025 with a 30-days trial period. Starting on May 12, drivers who are caught on video violating the stop arm rule will be issued a $250 fine, which will be sent via mail.
More information about the School Bus Camera program is available on the following Fairfax County website.
