WEST JORDAN, Utah — Only a few days into the new school year, and it's already been eventful on the roads around Jordan School District buses.
"It's been a little hectic out there," Marcus Swainston, transportation coordinator and bus driver for the Jordan School District, said.
Swainston said the early-year adjustment is expected, but the stakes are high.
"We are dealing with a lot of different aspects out there — weather, traffic, pedestrians, motorists, and the kids themselves," Swainston said.
When it comes to protecting students, the district has zero tolerance for drivers who blow past school buses that are unloading children. To enforce that standard, Jordan School District is using advanced camera systems mounted on buses to catch violators in real time.
"They take that video footage from that camera system and give it to our director of transportation, who forwards it on to the local law enforcement agency that the violation took place in," Swainston said.
The district partners with local law enforcement, including the West Jordan Police Department, to hold violators accountable. Motor Officer Cameron Carbine said many drivers are caught off guard when they receive a citation.
"They don't realize that there's cameras watching the road there, and they're very surprised when they get a ticket — and especially if they weren't paying attention, didn't even know what happened. But that's our biggest concern is the drivers who didn't even know that they did it," Carbine said.
In Utah, passing a school bus with its stop arm extended carries a fine starting at $1,000 and 10 hours of community service. Penalties double with each repeated offense.
While the district has seen a small drop in stop arm violations, school safety coordinator Matthew Alvarez said the problem remains too frequent.
"...we're a big district, so we cover a lot of cities, 56,000 students, right? So there's a lot of opportunity for these violations to occur," Alvarez said. "Sometimes it's just mindless parents or people driving, not realizing what they just did, and that's why we just need to increase the awareness — and sometimes that ticket will let you be a little bit more aware."
Swainston had a direct message for drivers sharing the road with school buses.
"Utah motorists, please be patient with us, be safe," she said. "We all have the same goal at the end of the day — get home to our families."
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DRIVEN TO CHANGE
