While speed cameras and Flock cameras may be unpopular topics facing broad public opposition in Connecticut towns, the same cannot be said for stop arm cameras on buses. Newtown Public Schools and Newtown Police Department released a joint statement noting that the stop arm cameras have been installed and that from September 15 through October 18, motorists who do not heed a stopped bus with a deployed stop arm and are caught on the stop arm camera will receive a warning.

The town passed an ordinance for the stop arm cameras to control how they, and the information they record, can be used.

The ordinance authorizes the camera footage to be used in enforcement of state statute 14-279(a), which states that it "requires drivers to stop for school buses displaying flashing red lights on any highway, private road, or parking area." The ordinance states that the images will be used "solely" for the enforcement of that state statute and will not be retained for other purposes.

At the town level, violations carry a $250 fine.

The ordinance states, "If there are reasonable grounds to believe a violation occurred and the file captures the number, plate, color, and type of vehicle, and the date, approximate time, and location of the violation, the Newtown Police Department shall issue a written warning or citation to the owner in accordance with the requirements of Conn. Gen Stat §14-279c. (b) The Town adopts the procedures set forth in Conn. Gen Stat §14-279c and establishes a citation hearing procedure pursuant to Conn. Gen Stat §7-152c, which may include in-person or virtual hearings. (c) The First Selectman shall appoint one or more citation hearing officers, other than police officers or employees or persons who issue citations, to conduct such hearings."

Beginning October 19, the first day of National School Bus Safety Week, citations will be issued. The minimum civil penalty for a first-time offense is $250, with no points assessed on the driver’s license. The initiative aims to change driver behavior and protect children as they travel to and from school each day.

All 56 of the town's school buses will have the stop arm cameras.

Four nearby communities have implemented stop arm cameras, with Bridgeport reporting that its 74 school buses recorded 9,860 illegal passes from September 2023 to February 2024, averaging 75 violations every single weekday. The New Haven stop arm cameras caught 847 drivers passing stopped school buses during the first week of the program in March 2026. In Shelton, cameras on 65 buses recorded more than 800 violations during the first six weeks of enforcement, averaging 25 to 30 violations daily. In Danbury, the buses reported more than 3,000 illegal passings over two months, averaging two violations per bus per day.

Those kinds of statistics are eye-opening and show the danger routinely faced by school children attempting to board buses from impatient drivers. While it can be frustrating and occasionally time consuming to get stuck behind a bus, passing a stopped school bus picking up children is highly dangerous to the children at the stop — the small amount of time saved making that pass will not in any way be worth the potential loss of life should a rash act lead to injury or death — and the consequences are severe for the driver, including loss of license and possible criminal charges.

Justin Meyers, president and chief innovation officer at BusPatrol, noted that "Data shows that over 90% of first-time violators don’t receive a second ticket — proof that this program is working to change driver behavior and protect children on the roads each day.”

It is good to know that the children of Newtown will be safer under this program.