Martin County plans bus cameras
BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Drivers on both sides of an undivided four-lane highway must now stop when a school or church bus flashes its red lights and extends its stop arm.
House Bill 7 took effect July 15, expanding Kentucky’s school bus stop law and allowing school districts to use camera monitoring systems to impose civil penalties on drivers who pass illegally. It also increases criminal penalties.
Under the new law, traffic in both directions on a four-lane highway must stop when a school or church bus extends its stop arm. The only exception is for drivers approaching from the opposite direction on a highway with four or more lanes separated by an elevated barrier or an unpaved median.
Violators caught on camera will face a $300 fine for a first offense and a $500 fine for each subsequent offense within a three-year period. The vehicle owner receives the penalty if no driver is identified.
No points will be assessed against the individual’s driving record.
Vehicle owners may pay the penalty or contest it in District Court. Those who neither pay nor challenge a penalty could have their vehicle registration suspended.
In Martin County, motorists who pass a stopped school bus could soon get caught on camera. Schools Superintendent Larry James said Monday that the Martin County School District plans to install stop-arm cameras on its buses.
“Bus drivers frequently report drivers illegally passing stopped buses, mostly at our football field and in the city of Inez,” James said.
He hopes the stiffer penalties and camera monitoring will deter reckless drivers and improve student safety.
“It is a great law,” James said. “Camera monitoring will make it so much easier to catch the people that are passing our buses with the stop sign out.”
Money collected from camera citations generally goes to the school district to fund the monitoring system.
Violators cited directly by police officers face criminal penalties.
A first offense carries a fine of $200 to $500, 30 to 60 days in jail or both. A second or subsequent offense within three years carries a fine of $300 to $1,000, 60 days to six months in jail or both.
The law prohibits suspending the minimum fine. A conviction adds at least six points to the driver’s record.