Cameras installed on Torrington school buses

TORRINGTON, Conn. (WTNH) -- The sign on the side of the school bus says it all: "Live Video Monitoring in Use". Cameras will now catch images of cars illegally passing.

"This is just another strategy we have in place now to ensure the safety of our children," said Asst. Superintendent of Schools Susan Domanico.

Torrington has outfitted ten buses with cameras that begin rolling when the vehicle is at rest. They are triggered to record when the stop arm extends.

Previously the bus driver was trying to catch license plates of cars blowing past. Now images will be recorded by Redflex Traffic Systems . Photos of license plates are sent to the police department.

"So now we have technology showing us where we need to go and who we need to go after," Domanico said.

One school bus driver in this community reports on one day alone five drivers passed her school bus, right past the extended stop sign.

Each car breaking the law can result in a ticket carrying a fine of $465. Right now Torrington is splitting that money with the software company to cover the cost of installing cameras, but eventually it could be straight revenue.

"So up front there is zero dollars expended from city taxpayers," said Mayor Ryan Bingham, "which is good because the violators should be paying for the equipment itself."

Its a pilot program in Torrington, and so far of the eight images captured, six resulted in tickets. It turns out cars are usually blowing past during afternoon dropoffs.

Other Connecticut towns, including Hamden and Wolcott, have already installed a camera system on their buses.