Exterior school bus cameras lead to more than 8,000 tickets in Seattle alone

SEATTLE — High-tech cameras installed on the outside of school buses are catching thousands of drivers breaking the law.

The cameras capture high-resolution images of cars that pass school buses when their stop paddles are up, signaling that students are about to get off the bus and possibly cross the street.

The citation is $419, and the tickets are hard to appeal because the cameras records everything from cars’ movements to their make, model and license plates.

The cameras resulted in more than 8,310 tickets being issued to drivers in the Seattle School District alone in 2017, and the King County Sheriff’s Office says they're more effective than officers at catching unsuspecting drivers.

The cameras are installed on 120 of the district’s 400 school buses.

In the Highline school district, 10 buses have cameras and about 20 drivers were cited a month last year. Part of the money from the tickets will be used for school zone safety projects in the district.

Cameras are also coming to buses in more school districts, including Bellevue, this fall.

Cox Media Group