As more cameras are coming to nab school bus stop arm scofflaws, lawmaker eyes reduced penalty

Hundreds more school buses across Minnesota are in line to be equipped with cameras that state safety officials are hoping will catch motorists who illegally pass their extended flashing stop arms as students get on and off.

Monday's announcement by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) comes as bus stop arm violations surge in the state. Meanwhile, one Minnesota state lawmaker wants to erase what he calls a "heavy fine" and leave the amount to the court's discretion.

On Monday, OTS announced $1.3 million in grants to 18 districts and transportation providers for the stop arm cameras to be installed on 465 buses.

Since the grant program started in 2022, OTS has awarded more than $15 million toward school bus stop arm cameras. That funding will have equipped 8,000 school buses statewide with camera systems.

"The thought of a child getting killed or injured by a reckless driver on the way to school is terrifying," OTS Director Mike Hanson said in a statement. "With nearly 10,000 school bus trips daily in Minnesota, near-misses and violations are dangerous and unacceptable."

Roseau School District Superintendent Tom Jerome said in his statement that "the cameras will be installed on 13 buses and will help improve enforcement of traffic laws, ensuring that drivers stop when students are boarding and unloading a Roseau school bus."

Even accounting for a COVID-19 reduction in school bus travel early in the decade, the climb in school bus arm violations in Minnesota has been steep, according to state records.

There were more than 2,100 citations issued in 2024, 1,867 in 2023, 1,014 in in 2022, 774 in 2021 and 512 in 2020.

According to OTS, here's what drivers need to know:

• On undivided roads, motorists traveling in both directions must stop at least 20 feet from a school bus displaying red flashing lights and an extended stop arm.
• Drivers traveling in the opposite direction on a divided road with a separating median, such as a concrete wall or boulevard, are not required to stop.
• Motorists should slow down, pay attention and anticipate schoolchildren and buses, especially in neighborhoods and school zones.

Monday's announcement also pointed out that drivers who pass a stopped school bus as students step on or off are subject to a mandatory minimum $500 fine.

There have been two close calls in Minnesota in the past 16 months.

Last week, Keith Douglas Bargel, 60, of Tower, was charged with disobeying a stopped school bus' warning signals and nearly causing a crash on a snowy Minnesota country road.

A Mountain Iron-Buhl school bus was pointed south on Hwy. 169 about 3:30 p.m. Dec. 20 when it stopped to drop off a student. The pickup truck passed the bus on the snowy right shoulder, struck a mailbox and kept going, the charges allege.

On Dec. 21, 2023, a pickup driver nearly hit two siblings with her pickup truck after the Willow River area school district students got off a bus in east-central Minnesota. Their waiting mother watched in horror. Brianna C. Johnson, 29, of Willow River, had a one-year jail sentence set aside in Pine County District Court and was put on probation for two years.

Lawmaker targets the fine

State Rep. Cedrick Frazier, DFL-New Hope, told the Star Tribune that his bill to eliminate the minimum mandatory fine of $500 for a school bus stop arm violation ″is designed to preserve accountability for those who violate school bus safety laws while ensuring fairness in how penalties are applied." Judges would still have discretion to levy fines, he said.

As an example, Frazier continued, "consider a first-time offender who mistakenly fails to stop due to poor road markings or unclear signage or while driving in inclement weather. In such cases, a judge may determine that educational measures, such as a safety course, would be more effective than a heavy fine."

Frazier, who added that his bill is unlikely to pass this session, said "there isn't clear evidence that a $500 fine is more effective than the standard $300 misdemeanor fine in preventing violations."

Brooklyn Center Police Chief Garett Flesland wants the $500 mandatory minimum fine to stay in place.

"From my perspective, a $500 minimum fine serves as a meaningful deterrent and a strong reminder of how seriously we should take the safety of children boarding or exiting a school bus," Flesland said. "Removing that floor may unintentionally signal that this offense is less serious than it truly is."

Mille Lacs County Sheriff Kyle Burton agreed, saying, "I am quite certain that lessening the penalties is going in the wrong direction to accomplish this. ... I can't understand why anyone would support lessening the penalty for violating this law."

Pine County Sheriff Jeff Nelson said he opposes eliminating a minimum fine and supports "significant consequences."

Nelson puts the responsibility for a safe environment squarely on drivers as they near a stopped bus.

"The bus driver can only do so much, and kids are kids," he said. "There is no excuse for not stopping."