As the new school year begins across Pennsylvania, it’s a good time for drivers to refresh their understanding of the state’s school bus safety laws. If you commute during morning or afternoon school hours, you may have already seen buses outfitted with camera systems designed to catch drivers who illegally pass while students are boarding or exiting. These stop-arm cameras are part of a controversial enforcement effort that some argue helps protect children—and others say violates drivers’ rights.
Before you get caught off guard by a $300 ticket in the mail, here’s what you need to know about Pennsylvania’s school bus camera law, your rights, and what to do if you’re cited.
What Is Pennsylvania’s School Bus Stop-Arm Camera Law?
In recent years, Pennsylvania lawmakers have pushed new legislation to protect children getting on and off school buses. One such initiative is the school bus stop-arm camera law, which allows school districts to equip buses with cameras that record license plates when drivers fail to stop for a bus displaying its flashing red lights and stop arm.
Violations caught on camera result in a $300 civil fine issued to the vehicle’s registered owner—not necessarily the person who was driving. These tickets do not add points to your license or lead to a suspension, but they can still carry serious consequences.
How School Bus Camera Tickets Work in Pennsylvania
Under this law, school districts contract with vendors like BusPatrol, which install automated camera systems on buses. When a stop-arm is extended and red lights are flashing, the system captures images of vehicles that fail to stop.
The process looks like this:
- The system records the vehicle’s license plate.
- The vendor reviews and forwards potential violations to local law enforcement.
- Police review the footage and authorize civil citations.
- Tickets are mailed to the vehicle owner, not necessarily the driver.
If unpaid, the fine can be referred to collections. The entire process sidesteps traditional courtroom procedures, which has raised concerns about transparency, fairness, and constitutional rights.
Are These Bus Tickets Even Legal?
The central legal issue is this: Is it fair to fine someone without proving who was driving? Critics argue this law violates due process under the Pennsylvania Constitution by shifting the burden of proof onto the vehicle owner. Instead of the government proving you committed a violation, you must prove you didn’t.
Although no court has struck down the law yet, constitutional challenges are possible. Fighting these citations can be expensive and time-consuming, which discourages many from pushing back.
What Are the Penalties for Passing a School Bus in PA?
Pennsylvania law takes school bus safety seriously, and drivers who ignore the rules can face stiff consequences. As of 2025, there are two main ways you can be penalized for illegally passing a stopped school bus:
Civil Ticket via Stop-Arm Camera
If a school bus is equipped with an automated camera system and records your vehicle passing while its red lights and stop arm are activated, you could receive a $300 civil fine in the mail. This ticket is issued to the vehicle’s registered owner, regardless of who was driving at the time. Importantly, camera-based tickets:
- Do not add points to your driving record
- Do not result in a license suspension
- Can be challenged through an administrative hearing process
Traffic Citation Issued by a Police Officer
If an officer observes you illegally passing a school bus, you may be issued a traditional traffic ticket. These carry more severe penalties, including:
- A minimum fine of $250, which may increase based on the circumstances
- Five points added to your driving record
- An automatic 60-day suspension of your driver’s license
- The right to contest the citation in traffic court
2025 Updates to Pennsylvania’s School Bus Laws
Recent legislative changes have enhanced school bus safety enforcement:
- Stopping Distance Increased: Drivers must now stop at least 15 feet from a stopped school bus, up from the previous 10-foot requirement.
- Amber Light Penalties: Drivers who fail to begin slowing down when a bus activates its flashing amber warning lights may now face penalties, even if they haven’t fully passed the bus yet.
- Repeat Offender Consequences: For second and subsequent violations, drivers face steeper fines (minimum $500), mandatory driver education or re-testing, and additional surcharges paid into the School Bus Safety Grant Program.
Understanding the differences between these penalties—and the risks of each—is essential for all Pennsylvania drivers, especially as students head back to school.
- Increased stopping distance: 10 feet → 15 feet
- Penalties for failing to slow during amber lights
- Higher fines and education requirements for repeat offenders
Do These Laws Actually Make Roads Safer?
The effectiveness of Pennsylvania’s school bus camera law is still up for debate. According to BusPatrol data, some school districts have reported promising reductions in the number of recorded violations:
- Quakertown: 1,317 → 1,028 violations (22% decrease)
- Pennsbury: 1,870 → 1,542 (17.5% decrease)
- Bensalem: 5,289 → 4,447 (15% decrease)
Supporters of the program claim these statistics show that driver behavior is improving over time due to increased awareness and deterrence. In their view, automated enforcement is helping to protect children by holding more drivers accountable.
However, the data doesn’t tell the full story. Critics caution that these decreases may reflect an initial wave of citations due to widespread confusion or aggressive enforcement in the early stages of the program. As awareness grows, violations may drop naturally without necessarily indicating a safer driving culture.
Moreover, enforcement inconsistencies complicate the picture. Law enforcement agencies have noted that many citations are dismissed due to:
- Late deployment of stop arms before buses are fully stopped
- Failure to activate amber warning lights with enough time to allow safe stopping
- Poor visibility conditions, such as glare or road layout
These flaws suggest that the program is vulnerable to human error and environmental factors, which raises questions about fairness and reliability.
Ultimately, while a decline in violations is encouraging, it’s unclear whether these laws are significantly reducing the risk to students or simply increasing the number of automated citations issued. More comprehensive safety data and independent analysis are needed to determine the law’s true impact on child safety at school bus stops.
Where Does the Money from These Bus Tickets Go?
Each $300 stop-arm camera ticket is split among multiple stakeholders:
- $250 goes to the school district
- $25 goes to the local police department
- $25 supports the Pennsylvania School Bus Safety Grant Program
At first glance, this revenue-sharing structure appears to benefit schools and safety efforts. But in practice, many school districts see little to no net revenue from the program due to the substantial costs involved in outsourcing enforcement.
Most participating schools contract with private vendors like BusPatrol, who install, maintain, and manage the camera systems. These vendors often:
- Take up to 60% of the $250 district share per ticket
- Charge monthly technology fees based on the number of buses in a fleet
- Roll over unpaid balances from year to year if ticket revenue doesn’t cover expenses
This means that for many school districts, the program may generate just enough to cover vendor costs, effectively breaking even.
Are Schools or Private Vendors Benefiting More?
While the program is marketed as a student safety initiative, critics point out that vendors may be the primary financial beneficiaries, not schools. Add to that:
- No requirement for public bidding in some cases
- Lobbying efforts by companies with vested interests
- Limited transparency about how funds are used or reinvested
Ultimately, while a portion of each ticket supports school safety efforts on paper, the majority of funds often cycle through private contracts—raising valid questions about long-term sustainability and who truly profits.
How to Fight a School Bus Camera Ticket
If you’ve received a school bus camera ticket in Pennsylvania, you have the legal right to contest it and you shouldn’t automatically assume it’s valid. Unlike traditional traffic citations, these civil violations are issued based on footage reviewed by private companies and police. That means errors, misidentification, or flawed procedures are more common than you might think.
Request an Administrative Hearing
As of 2024, first-level appeals are handled by PennDOT, not local magistrate judges. These hearings are typically conducted via video conference. During the hearing, you can present evidence, question the citation’s validity, and argue your case.
If you’re unsuccessful at the administrative level, you still have the right to appeal the decision to a Pennsylvania district court, where additional legal standards apply.
Common Legal Defenses to Passing a School Bus in PA
- You weren’t driving: Since camera tickets go to the registered owner, you can argue someone else was operating the vehicle.
- Improper amber light usage: Buses must activate amber lights well in advance of stopping. If the lights were deployed late, a violation may not be valid.
- Unclear or obstructed conditions: Factors like sun glare, poor road design, or unclear stop-arm visibility may make it unreasonable or unsafe to stop in time.
- Bus wasn’t fully stopped: Some citations are triggered before the bus comes to a complete stop, which contradicts the law’s intent.
Gather Your Evidence
- Vehicle dashcam footage
- Witness testimony
- School bus camera video and timestamps
- Roadway conditions (photos or weather reports)
Fighting a ticket without legal guidance can be daunting, but hiring a knowledgeable traffic attorney significantly improves your chances of success.
When You Should Talk to a Lawyer about a Bus Ticket
While the motivation behind the school bus camera law, protecting children’s safety is noble, the execution raises serious constitutional and procedural concerns. When tickets are issued to car owners without identifying who was driving, the burden of proof shifts onto everyday citizens.
These tickets are designed for convenience, not accuracy. The process often favors expedience over fairness. With civil penalties managed outside traditional courts, most people simply pay the fine, whether guilty or not.
But you have rights. And in many cases, the ticket you received might be:
- Based on flawed video footage
- Issued in error by the school district or vendor
- Authorized without adequate police review
Attorney Michael Fienman has helped clients across Pennsylvania fight unjust citations. He understands how these systems work, what defenses hold weight, and how to protect your record and your rights.
Don’t let a camera replace due process. If you’ve received a stop-arm camera ticket, contact Fienman Defense for legal help.
FAQs About School Bus Camera Tickets in Pennsylvania
How much is a school bus camera ticket in PA?
A stop-arm camera ticket in Pennsylvania carries a $300 civil fine per violation. This is a flat rate, regardless of circumstances, and is issued directly to the registered owner of the vehicle caught on video passing a school bus with its stop arm extended and red lights flashing. The ticket does not go on your driving record but must be paid or challenged by the deadline to avoid further consequences.
Can I get points on my license from a camera ticket?
No. Camera-issued tickets do not result in points being added to your driving record, nor do they trigger a license suspension. Unlike citations issued by a police officer, these are civil in nature and treated more like a parking ticket than a moving violation—though the consequences can still be frustrating and costly.
How do I challenge a BusPatrol ticket?
If you believe a school bus camera ticket was issued in error, you have the right to contest it through a PennDOT administrative hearing, which is typically conducted virtually. This process allows you to present evidence, argue your case, and request dismissal. If you’re unsuccessful, you can appeal to a district court. Working with a traffic lawyer can significantly improve your chances of success.
Is it legal to fine the vehicle owner without knowing who was driving?
This is one of the most contested aspects of Pennsylvania’s law. While the state currently permits issuing tickets to registered owners regardless of who was driving, many legal experts believe it raises serious constitutional concerns about due process. Courts have not yet ruled the law invalid, but legal challenges continue, and the debate is ongoing.
Do camera tickets make roads safer?
Some school districts have reported a drop in violations after implementing camera enforcement, suggesting a potential deterrent effect. However, critics argue that the data is too limited to draw broad conclusions, and that improper ticketing practices, inconsistent enforcement, and unclear deployment procedures may undermine the law’s intended safety benefits.
Pennsylvania’s School Bus Camera Law Deserves a Second Look
While Pennsylvania’s school bus camera law is intended to protect children, its current implementation raises serious concerns about fairness, privacy, and due process. Civil tickets are being issued to vehicle owners without identifying the actual driver, and much of the financial benefit flows to private vendors—not the schools or the public.
If you’ve received one of these citations, you don’t have to just accept it. Many tickets can be successfully challenged, and doing so helps push back against a system that prioritizes profit over principle. Eventually, the law itself may be challenged in court. Until then, it’s up to individuals to assert their rights.
If you’ve been cited under Pennsylvania’s school bus camera law, contact an experienced Philadelphia-area defense attorney.
Attorney Michael H. Fienman represents clients in criminal and traffic matters across Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware, and Chester counties. As an experienced trial attorney, he is a zealous advocate known for relentlessly defending clients in state court, federal court, and before administrative agencies.
Attorney Fienman is licensed to practice before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court of New Jersey, the US District Court for the District of New Jersey, and the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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