Austin ISD bus stop arm violations continue to rise

Back in February 2016 the district put cameras on the buses to catch stop arm violators. They were hoping they would see a steady decrease, but that didn't happen.

“We're consistently averaging 1,000 violations a month or more,” said Chief Eric Mendez, Austin ISD Police Dept.

The district hoped getting tickets in the mail would help drivers learn their lessons, and the word would spread. Well that's not happening, the nearly 16,000 violations are proof of that.

“You would think that with the community knowing we now have this technology, we now had two students struck, we would see numbers decrease and we're now end of march and numbers haven't decreased at all they've maintained,” said Mendez.

Those two students who were hit, survived but police cannot guarantee those fortunate situations will happen every time. That's why they say....drivers must obey.

“School is still in session. They need to watch for the buses they need to watch for our walkers and bikers to and from school every day,” said Mendez.

It's important to note, the only exception where drivers don't have to stop on the other side of the roadway, is when there is a physical median/barrier in the roadway. A turning lane does not count as a median. If issued, a violation would cost $300.