MoCo Buses Could Soon Carry Traffic Cameras

In Maryland, a bill is being introduced Tuesday in the Montgomery County council that could place cameras on school buses -- not pointed at students, but on the vehicles attempting to pass them.

Earlier this year, the Maryland general assembly okayed a bill that would allow the county to install the cameras should council members decide to they want to.  The cameras would be designed to catch drivers that pass school buses when they're stopped, similar to the devices that now catch speeders or those who run red lights. 

A state study showed that for a variety of reasons, less than a third of drivers in Montgomery County that passed stopped school buses were actually fined. Those caught by the cameras would face a maximum fine of $250. If a bus driver can personally identify the driver, as opposed to the camera just spotting a license plate, the driver would face a misdeameanor charge and a fine of up to $1,000.