LIBERTY COUNTY, Ga. — Cameras could be added to selected Liberty County school buses under a proposal aimed at catching motorists who drive past while children are boarding or getting off.
The school system is considering a five-year agreement with Angel Trax. Buses with a history of illegal passing incidents would be targeted for the equipment, which would document vehicles passing while the bus’s warning signals and stop arm are activated.
Potential violations would undergo two reviews: an initial check by Angel Trax, followed by a certified Liberty County law enforcement officer’s assessment of whether the evidence supports a violation.
A transportation department pilot has already captured several instances of motorists passing stopped buses.
The proposed arrangement would split fine revenue between Angel Trax and the sheriff’s office. Installation and operation would carry no direct cost to the school system.
Board members are expected to consider the agreement at their next meeting. The cameras remain a proposal; the available information does not establish an enforcement start date.
What drivers need to know
According to the Georgia Department of Driver Services, motorists generally must stop in both directions for a school bus loading or unloading passengers with its warning lights flashing.
A center turn lane does not exempt approaching drivers from stopping. On a divided highway with a separating median, traffic traveling on the opposite side is exempt, while vehicles traveling in the bus’s direction must stop.
Drivers must remain stopped until the bus moves or turns off its warning signals, and passengers have cleared the roadway.
Yolonda Harris / News Now Georgia
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