School Bus Stop Arm Photo Enforcement: Presented by: Rick S. Grisham, Ed.S. Executive Director of Transportation Cobb County School District Rick.Grisham@cobbk12.org 678-594-8000 Keeping Our Students Safe! Case Study
Overview Cobb County Background/Program History Why We Need a Photo Enforcement Program Selecting a Vendor Creating an Education/Outreach Program Using Data Factors to Include for Implementation IGA/MOU Wrap up/comments Stop Means
Why Photo Enforcement?
DEFINING THE NEED 01 102,000 school bus drivers reported that 78,518 vehicles passed their buses illegally on a single day. Throughout a 180-day school year, these sample results alone point to over 14 million violations by private motorists.* *2015 NASDPTS National Stop Arm Violation Count 2015 American Traffic Solutions, Inc. Proprietary and Confidential
Cobb County Experience
FAST FACTS about COBB COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT: County Footage 345 Sq. Miles Total Number of Schools 114 Students Enrolled 113,000 Students Transported 93,000 Schools: Elementary Schools 67 Middle Schools 25 High Schools 16 Charter Schools 2 Special Education Centers 2 Adult Education Center 1 Performance Learning Center 1 Student Demographics: White: 39.0% African American: 31.5% Hispanic: 20.3% Asian: 5.2% Multi-Racial: 3.6% American Indian: <1% Pacific Islander: <1%
FAST FACTS about COBB COUNTY TRANSPORTATION: #8 in the Nation for Pupil Ridership #13 in the Nation Fleet Size Conventional Buses 886 (142 with exterior Cameras) Special Needs Buses 288 Drivers 935 Monitors 150 Supervisory Staff 35 Fleet Staff 55 Bus Routes per Day 1,986 Bus Stops per Day 37,530 Miles Traveled 56,231/day or 10,290,252/year Field Trips approximately 6,000
Are We Doing Everything Possible To Keep Our Students Safe?
Legislation Map
The Solution
Selecting a Vendor Experienced with turnkey solutions. Stand alone cameras aren t enough (three or four turnkey providers are in the marketplace). Experienced with photo enforcement. The top turnkey vendors are usually in photo enforcement already (speed, red light, etc.) Experienced with school bus systems.
Selecting a Vendor, continued Vendor should be able to demonstrate competence in public awareness programs-ask for samples of tools (PSA, Brochures, Billboards, Etc.) Ask for area references Make sure that the program includes: Equipment Maintenance Replacement from vandalism/damage Cellular Modem (wifi is OK if all buses return to station) GPS Citation mailing Necessary software
Selecting a Vendor, continued On the police side, the goal is to make sure that calls come to the vendor or police department-not the schools. Make sure that the vendor sends all violations directly to the police department The vendor should have a call centerpreferably multi-lingual. Otherwise they call the PD or School District. Consider a pilot
What Model is Best For You? Urban Districts (higher violations) Full service Automated upload Larger commitment Rural Districts (lower violations) In-house Memory card removal Email violation to Law Enforcement
Turnkey Vendors
End-to-End Solution 21 2015 American Traffic Solutions, Inc. Proprietary and Confidential
Easy-to-Use Online Violation Processing
Sample Citation
Payment Processing Multiple payment options for citation recipients
Automated Court Support Violation/Hearing Information
Getting Started
Key Factors to Consider Begin discussions with Law Enforcement well prior to developing an IGA. Have law enforcement come to the school board briefing meeting. Do not forget the courts! This is often the largest hurdle in program implementation. Provide talking point documents for when they present the IGA to their board, complete with a description of the danger level.
Key Factors to Consider, continued Don t re-invent the wheel. Get sample agreements from vendors and other agencies as a starting point. Don t require the vendor to present the program details to the entities. It weakens the presentation. Use law enforcement when possible. When a state law is present, local ordinances are usually not required.
Inter-Governmental Agreements (IGA s) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU s)
IGA s An Inter-Governmental Agreement details who-does-what in the program administration. It is between the school district, the vendor, and the City or County. A less formal MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) also can work, but is less formal. It usually details: Who will manage the vendor relationship Who will manage the fleet of cameras Who will review violations. What the court/adjudication responsibilities are Requirements for proper enforcement such as deadline for approving violations. Revenue sharing percentages
Public Awareness
Outreach/Education Critical to convey Safety over Making Money Create a plan with the stop arm program as piece of the plan, CCSD s Keeping Students Safe! Brochures, PSA s, Press Releases, PTA Meetings, Presentations, Websites, ETC (Hawkeye) Partner with Law Enforcement
Cobb County Police Department Support Driver Awareness Signage
Community Awareness & PR Support 2016 American Traffic Solutions, Inc. Proprietary & Confidential
IN THE KNOW
Does it Work?
Safety Results 2016 American Traffic Solutions, Inc. Proprietary & Confidential
CCSD Citations
Questions? Contact Information: Rick Grisham, Executive Director of Transportation Cobb County School District, Marietta, GA Rick.Grisham@cobbk12.org www.cobbk12.org/central office/transportation Keeping Our Students Safe!