DPS to award $1.2 million in grants for school bus stop arm cameras

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety announced Thursday it will award $1.2 million in grants to 27 schools and bus companies to install stop arm cameras on school buses.

This sixth and final round of funding will outfit 570 buses with cameras that record when buses’ stop arms are extended and flashing.

DPS says this grant program is designed to keep students safe, combat dangerous driving and help law enforcement track down violators.

“It will make it easier for law enforcement to follow up and contact the owners of those vehicles, but hopefully, they can get ahold of those drivers,” Minnesota State Patrol Lt. Ryan Rue told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS. “If nothing else, have that educational opportunity to remind them that it’s crucial that you stop when that stop arm is out.”

In the first quarter of 2023 alone, stop arm cameras from two grantees, First Student and Palmer Bus Service, recorded a combined 232 instances of such violations, according to data reported to DPS.

State law requires drivers to stop at least 20 feet away from a school bus that has lights flashing and its stop arm out. Violations could result in a minimum fine of $500.

The DPS Office of Traffic Safety began awarding $14 million in grants starting in 2022. By the end of the grant program, about 7,000 school buses across the state will have stop arm cameras, accounting for almost 60% of all Minnesota school buses, DPS said.