Mention of Dada's bus camera protest in the UL

[Rosie the Riveter]

Bottom line may keep cameras off school buses
By RILEY YATES
Union Leader Staff
11 hours, 49 minutes ago


MANCHESTER ? Don't expect video cameras to be permanently placed on Manchester school buses anytime soon.

While a public hearing will be held tonight over a policy to allow the cameras, school officials say budget questions make it unlikely the school district will go out and buy them this year.

Two key school board members said they believe the policy will be approved when the board meets tonight, but the larger question of actually installing the cameras will be weighed in the future against other initiatives.

"In my mind, there's a question of how much of a priority having cameras on buses is, compared to other needs we have, including seat belts on buses," said Leslee Stewart of Ward 1, the vice chairman of the board.

Already, the Manchester Transit Authority has a handful of video cameras that travel as problems are reported. School and bus officials say putting cameras on all 81 buses would help maintain order and keep a record for disciplinary action.

The MTA would like to put a set of three to four digital cameras on buses at a cost of $2,200 per vehicle. Executive Director David Smith has said the authority is willing to help cover the bill.

The proposal has been criticized as intrusive by the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union. Several weeks ago, a man held a sign in the hall of the school administration offices protesting against the idea, as well.

Doug Kruse of Ward 8, chairman of the Finance Committee, said cameras would be a valuable tool, but dollars and cents will likely have to be hashed out during budget battles for next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Whether cameras are a priority, Kruse said, "is an open question at the moment."

Superintendent Michael Ludwell said cameras could be purchased gradually as surpluses are realized.

"Right now, we'd have to build it into the (next) budget, unless funds become available," Ludwell said.

Many New Hampshire communities have begun using cameras to police buses.

This month, the Nashua school district said it will install two cameras on buses where problems were being experienced, though officials said students will not know on which routes.

Londonderry began putting cameras on buses before this school year, with a contract for 48 cameras over the next five years. Goffstown and Derry also have long-standing policies of allowing cameras.

The public hearing will be held at 6:30 at school district headquarters, 286 Commercial St. The school board will meet afterward.

[error]

Seat belts on school buses?!?

[Rosie the Riveter]

Seat belts on school buses?!?

Anything to spend more $$$

[Quantrill]

IT'S FOR THE KIDS!!!!!!!!

[burnthebeautiful]

I don't claim to know anything about "automobile physics" or whatever, but are seat belts in a bus really a good idea? It seems to me the most probable scenario in a bus crash is that the bus turns over on its side, in which case having a seatbelt will make it more difficult to get out.

[Dave Ridley]

Thanks for posting this, "rosie!"
i wonder how the UL found out about it...

[Fluff and Stuff]

It should cost $300 per bus, tops.  If anything at all is needed, it would be 1 camera that views the entire area b/t the 2 sets of seats.  This will cover 1/3 of the bus.  That is what they did when I was in middle school.  I wonder who is making so much money from what may happen in Manchester, $2200.... 

[eques]

I saw some program on that once, regarding why busses don't have seatbelts.  The theory is that, instead of seatbelts, they cram the seats together so that if there is a head-on collision, the children will, more or less, stay in place.

*shrug*  I don't have kids, but I doubt I'll be sending my kids onto a school bus anyway.

[Rosie the Riveter]

Thanks for posting this, "rosie!"
i wonder how the UL found out about it...

Riley Yates, the writer, covers all the school board meetings and the mayor and aldermen meetings, so he's is well informed. I often see people chatting with him before and after meetings as well... It is easy to imagine someone mentioning it to him.

[Rochelle]

This month, the Nashua school district said it will install two cameras on buses where problems were being experienced, though officials said students will not know on which routes.

Um, right. *pulls out rocking chair, long white beard and sits on porch*
In my day, you'd have to be pretty daft NOT to see the cameras on the bus. They were big black boxes that were right up front by the driver with a mirrored cover and they watched everything you did.
....
Now that I think about it, I wonder if we tried more stuff just to see if we could get away with it while the camera was rolling.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Did ya hear about the skoolkid who died when the bus hit something and the kid, who had no seatbelt flew out of his seat and slammed into the camera?

[error]

Did ya hear about the skoolkid who died when the bus hit something and the kid, who had no seatbelt flew out of his seat and slammed into the camera?

Surveillance cameras KILL! Get rid of them!

[Insurgent]

I used to drive a school bus, back in the day so I have some inside info. There are reasons why there are no seatbelts on a bus; it's not needed and in some ways is more dangerous.

Nowadays the seatbacks are higher and fully padded which makes a pretty safe environment, provided that the prisoner is sitting down and facing forward. A bus rarely flips, and in most accidents the passengers are rarely injured because of the sheer size and weight of the bus. Seatbelts can also become easily tangled, making it more difficult to quickly exit the bus in an emergency.

Another issue that people don't think about is the weapon potential of the seat belt buckle when swung at another riders' head!

As far as the cameras go, it's a touchy issue. I recognize the privacy aspect of it, but the kids are all inmates anyways! They would come in handy for the sake of the bus driver having proof of unsafe behaviour. It can be hard to get a kid kicked off the bus without evidence and a pattern of behaviour.

[Spencer]

This month, the Nashua school district said it will install two cameras on buses where problems were being experienced, though officials said students will not know on which routes.

Um, right. *pulls out rocking chair, long white beard and sits on porch*
In my day, you'd have to be pretty daft NOT to see the cameras on the bus. They were big black boxes that were right up front by the driver with a mirrored cover and they watched everything you did.
....
Now that I think about it, I wonder if we tried more stuff just to see if we could get away with it while the camera was rolling.

When I was still a schoolkid in California they installed cameras in big, black metal boxes with mirrored faces -- they distributed the cameras "randomly," and you couldn't tell which, if any, box had a camera in it on any given day.