Outside cameras coming to parish school buses

If you see a school bus that is stopped, there are kids around.
Protocol is in place to assure the kids who are loading or unloading the bus remain safe. Unfortunately there are cases when other drivers are not obeying laws regarding school buses.
“We had a complaint about somebody blowing past a stopped school bus on (La.) Hwy. 699,” Louisiana State Police Master Trooper Brooks David told the Abbeville Rotary Club last week.
The highway is home to two Vermilion Parish Schools, North Vermilion High School and North Vermilion Middle School.
“It’s been a problem in that area for a while and this guy got caught and was followed to the school,” David said. “If we catch a kid doing that, we are going to their house and taking their driver’s license. It will be suspended.”
The issue of drivers passing school buses that are stopped is not at an alarming level, but no official wants to see it even get close.
“We don’t have a real big problem with that in the parish,” David said, “but we want to stop it before it becomes a problem.”
The Vermilion Parish School System is doing its part to help curb the potential problem. Superintendent Jerome Puyau said new school buses will be fitted with cameras that can film the outside of the bus.
“We are going to install cameras for the outside that can film a driver coming or going,” Puyau said. “If somebody passes up the bus when the caution lights or stop lights are out, it will be captured on film.”
That film will be turned over to the proper authorities.
“We will turn it over to the State Police,” Puyau said. “We will have 24 hours to do that.”
Vermilion Parish has more than 100 buses in its fleet. A number of older models are phased out each year.
“Every bus we order from now on will have those outside cameras,” Puyau said. “Over the course of the next few years, we will be improving our buses’ security.”
The bus that travels the route on Hwy. 699 will have a camera installed now.
“The driver on that route has had multiple issues,” Puyau said.
Cameras on Vermilion Parish school buses is nothing new.
“Every bus that we have purchased in the past few years through our millage has cameras inside,” Puyau said. “They are facing every three or four seats. We can see everything that’s happening inside the bus. We can see what’s happening outside the bus, but it doesn’t give that clear of a shot.”
Whether it’s inside or outside, anything that happens with a bus can affect kids. That is the school system’s only concern.
“We’re talking about kids’ safety,” Puyau said. “When the bus’ cautions lights come on, it should tell you that you need to slow down and prepare to stop.You might be a little late to work, but I would rather be late to work than to put students in jeopardy.”