TEMPERANCE, Mich. — Security cameras are now a part of the Bedford Public Schools bus fleet. All 42 buses include one exterior camera underneath the stop sign arm and four high-resolution cameras.
Bedford Schools Superintendent Carl Shultz said he doesn't want to see people in his district get more traffic tickets and hopes the addition of security cameras on buses will be safer for drivers all around.
"Our goal is not to, obviously, give people tickets and have them make a court appointment," he said. "But if that's what's going to stop individuals from doing it, maybe the word will get out, and we'll keep our kids safer."
Following the passage of a Michigan law in 2021 allowing cameras to be placed on school buses, the district made an agreement with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office that the video can be used as evidence in court. The district hopes to use the cameras to remind people to stop when they see the bus' stop sign out.
Bedford parent Doug Steinman said the cameras are a step in the right direction.
"I'm very excited that we're taking a major step here ... one more big step to make sure our kids are safe on the roadway," he said.
The cameras aren't just watching the roads. They're watching inside the bus too.
"We've got new cameras put inside the buses too that can see the whole bus much better," Bedford Schools head mechanic Keith Godlewski said. "It helps with the bullying issue."
Four new high-resolution cameras are inside each bus. Shultz said the new system could spread to other school districts across the area after they see the long-term effects on Bedford.
"Oftentimes in education, they find that if something is working, it kind of snowballs," he said. "The idea would be that if this is a strong deterrent, which we believe it will be, it has been in other states, other districts will jump on it."