Video shows stopped bus speeding in Peabody – NBC Boston

A shocking new video shows students in Peabody, Massachusetts, crossing a street to board their bus — just seconds before a car whizzes by, ignoring the flashing school bus stop sign.

City officials held a news conference Monday and said this incident was just one of thousands of these types of violations they have caught on camera since the start of the school year.

“We had some near misses, some very serious accidents that really concerned all of us,” said Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt.

As part of a pilot program, 10 buses in the school district were equipped with cameras, and approximately 3,500 violations were caught on camera from September to May.

“The data is there. It is a problem. We have to do something about it and it’s time for our state legislators to take action and protect our community,” the mayor said.

City leaders are calling on state lawmakers to pass House Bill 4450, which would allow offenders caught on cameras on school buses to receive a citation.

According to the current legal situation, the police must personally witness the violation in order to be able to issue a ticket.

Currently, the new school bus safety proposal is in committee, but officials said Monday that state lawmakers could give it the green light to become state law within the next few weeks.