Dothan City Schools Resumes Child Safety Program

Video Monitoring Deterrent System on Dothan City Schools Buses Resumes on August 3

DOTHAN, Ala. – Dothan City Schools (DCS) will resume its Child Safety Program on August 3, 2023 as DCS Transportation begins its Bus Route practice runs in anticipation of students returning on August 8. The practice run on August 3, will simulate stops with Stop-Arms and the citation system activated. The program, launched in the Spring of 2023, was initiated with the goal to change driver behavior and make kids safer when drivers in our community encounter school buses on the roadway.

In March, DCS will launch an automated stop-arm violation program using AngelTrax’s Child Safety Program, a safety camera system that monitors and detects drivers who illegally pass school buses. Through this program, DCS and AngelTrax placed cameras on all 89 buses in the DCS fleet as a deterrent for drivers who illegally pass school buses within the Dothan city limits. When the school bus stops and amber lights are activated, the system automatically detects vehicles passing the stopped school bus, and records the incident. After the incident is confirmed as a stop arm violation, the registered owner of the vehicle will receive a citation in the mail.

According to the 2006 Code of Alabama, Section 32-5A-154, law forbids drivers from passing a stopped school - or church – bus, when the alternately flashing red lights are activated, in almost every case. Drivers must remain stopped until the bus resumes motion.

Additionally, when the school bus stops for passengers on a two-lane roadway, all traffic from both directions must stop. On a divided highway of four lanes or more with a median separation, 

when the school bus stops for passengers, only traffic following the school bus must stop. On a two-lane roadway with a center turning lane, or on a four-lane roadway without a median separation, when the school bus stops for passengers, all traffic from both directions must stop.

Child Safety Program, powered by AngelTrax, complies with the Alabama School Bus Safety Act (2016 Code of Alabama Title 16 Chapter 27A), and is enforcing this law in the State of Alabama as a third-party company that has been in mobile video surveillance and stop arm camera systems for more than 23 years. 

According to statistics from the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS), 95,000 stop arm violations were reported in a single day and 17 million in a single year. 

Citations from the Child Safety Program resume on August 3, 2023. Drivers cited through the Child Safety Program will face a $300 fine for each offense. Citation recipients can visit www.childsafetyprogram.us to pay the ticket or to view high-resolution images and video of the violation. To contest a ticket, please follow the instructions provided with your citation to request a hearing.

For more information, go to dothan.k12.al.us/childsafetyprogram.

###