North Penn’s Coordinator of Safe Schools Brandon Rhone discusses the district’s “Bus Patrol” camera system during the safe schools committee meeting on Monday, Sept. 30 2024. (Screenshot of NPTV video)
Data identifies trouble spots, busiest times
The numbers are in from another month, and the hot spots are becoming clear.
North Penn officials heard the latest stats on “Bus Patrol,” a camera-system meant to stop those who speed past school buses, and several areas where drivers should beware.
“There were a total of 840 violations that came through the system, from March 1 to March 31st. That is staying pretty consistent with the numbers we have been seeing,” said district Coordinator of Safe Schools Brandon Rhone.
Starting in summer 2022, district staff and local police departments have discussed “Bus Patrol,” a system of cameras and software that takes photos of drivers who pass a bus when it’s stopped, then shares that info with local police departments who can use it to issue citations. Camera installation started in 2023 on buses as the local towns signed on, all agreed to take part by the end of the 2023-24 schoolyear, and last September staff gave an update on the first set of stats; Rhone gave another update to the board’s safe schools committee on April 28.
“The very first month, it was 500-something, then it climbed up into the 700 to 800 range,” he said.
Of the 840 violations observed by cameras across the district, 657 of those were approved by local police and issued as citations, while 183 were not.
A driver passes a right-turn-only arrow while making a turn from Sumneytown Pike onto Supplee Road in Upper Gwynedd, where township officials have proposed a traffic study to investigate possible safety upgrades, on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.“That could range from: it did not meet the standard of the vehicle code, it was maybe a little too close to call for the officer that is approving the violations, to feel confident it was a violation. There are a number of reasons why those would not be approved,” Rhone said.
Of those violations noted in March, the busiest spots were clear: 40 were seen on the 100 block of Route 309 in Montgomery Township, followed by 31 on the 1300 block of Swedesford Road in Upper Gwynedd, then 19 on the 900 block of Valley Forge Road, and 15 each on the 800 and 1500 blocks of Sumneytown Pike.
Those busiest spots may all have something in common, Rhone told the committee: roadways where drivers on the opposite side of the road from a stopped bus may think they can keep going, but there’s no barrier between them and any kids going to or from the bus.
“309 and 202, they’re thinking ‘Well, I’m on the other side, the far right lane of the double yellow, I don’t have to stop.’ And that is truly not a divided highway: a divided highway means a physical barrier dividing the highway,” he said.
“A solid double yellow (stripe) does not constitute a divided highway, and I would venture to say that is where the majority of these top three, are on these types of roads, and why we’re seeing these numbers so high,” Rhone said.
Bus Patrol data also breaks down by day and hour, and in March Tuesdays saw the most violations, slightly more than Mondays and Wednesdays and a drop on Thursdays and Fridays. The March data also show the 8 a.m. hour is the busiest for violations spotted on morning bus runs, and the 3 p.m. hour was peak afternoon time.
“This data really shows us the day of the week, the time of the day, where the violations seem to be occurring – I would say it’s pretty consistent, across the board,” he said.
“All six of our municipalities typically run a traffic enforcement (detail) during the A.M. and P.M. hours. The travel time, getting to school, right up through the school zone time, and the beginning of after school — that is happening, across the board,” Rhone said.
Some of those departments have also started sharing those violations on social media so drivers can see what to do, and not to do, he added. Committee chairman Jonathan Kassa said he’d seen those social media posts “really got some traction,” and had seen signs added by Montgomery Township on DeKalb Pike near the Montgomery Mall at one hot spot.
“Even if it’s on the other side of a highway, you’d think a student is perfectly safe. They’re not, because if there is an accident, and it’s not divided, there may be unintended consequences, from tires and other things flying around” during an accident, Kassa said.
Superintendent Todd Bauer added that he recently saw the system in action in person, while driving from North Penn High School to the district Educational Services Center, when he saw a bus stop Sumneytown Pike near Supplee Road and Corpus Christi School in Upper Gwynedd.
“I’m in the left lane, of the two opposing lanes, and a bus is in the far lane on the other side, coming towards me. Stopping, opens the door, flashing lights. I am two lanes over, and the bus had lane going the same direction next to it, there’s a a double yellow line, then there’s me, then there’s a lane next to me. I stopped, of course, and the person behind me stopped, but that lane to my right just kept going,” Bauer said.
“They’re four lanes over from the bus stop — I’m assuming they are all in violation, and will be receiving citations. This was 6:45, maybe 6:50 in the morning, right near Corpus Christi, and cars are just flying by. If something happens, and there’s no divider there, children are still in danger. So: if there is not a divided highway, you must stop.”
North Penn’s school board next meets at 7 p.m. on May 6 and 15 and the safe schools committee next meets at 5:45 p.m. on May 27. For more information visit www.NPenn.org.
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