School bus

[Ken hales]

I am a school bus driver in Canada and need a dash camera that will accurately read lic. Plates. It is a safety issue people drive past my red lights when loading and unloading students. Can anyone help.

 

[ashematian]

Hi Ken,

Our company is developing a AI based system for school bus STOP arm enforcement but to my knowledge it's not available for sale right now. How many do you need?
For a single unit I can make you one that not only records a video of the violation like a dashcam but it also detects the car, detects the license plate and can create a complete set of data for each violation required in court. Like 180 degree buffered video of the violation, cropped image of the car, cropped image of the license plate, time and date, location and so on.
This way everything is fully automated and can be uploaded somewhere on a server or copied to a flash drive at the end of the shift.
Below you can see sample files of how the system could operate.
Let me know what you think.

 

[kvn4]

that is very nice. hope it comes out soon . school buses need those asap.

 

[dash riposki]

Probably ANY decent consumer grade dash cam will work. (Decent means independent positive reviews, overall good performance)
You're stopped or stopping, so vibration and whatever isn't a big problem. Other than delving into police type license plate reader stuff, not sure any commercial system will give you superior license plate capture that is much better than higher performing dash cams?

My retired brother drives a school bus in Pennsylvania, they have some sort of commercial cam system installed, and won't allow him to use his own cam.

 

[kamkar]

The American school bus system bewilder me in a way, over here kids are taught to look before crossing the road, and not to do so before the bus have left.
actually even regular buses have a sign at the exit saying
1. Be careful for cyclists as the bus unload at the curb and there is a high chance there is a bicycle path in between the road and the sidewalk.
2. Don't cross the road before the bus have driven off.
If there are no small sidewalk and the bus unload directly onto a bicycle path cyclist must yield to passengers getting on or off the bus.
But i think that is pretty rare most times you will have a 60 - 90 CM wide place to stand next to the curb, some times the waiting shed are also all the way out by the curb, but i think most often it is way on the other side of the sidewalk.

Of course school buses here just unload in the driveway / side of road, as we most often have those in rural areas, in town kids cycle to school or walk,,, or that is we are getting American conditions where parents will drive kids to school, often braking speed limits near schools and the kids not having seat belt on and also violate parking rules at the school.

 

[Ken hales]

Hi Ken,

Our company is developing a AI based system for school bus STOP arm enforcement but to my knowledge it's not available for sale right now. How many do you need?
For a single unit I can make you one that not only records a video of the violation like a dashcam but it also detects the car, detects the license plate and can create a complete set of data for each violation required in court. Like 180 degree buffered video of the violation, cropped image of the car, cropped image of the license plate, time and date, location and so on.
This way everything is fully automated and can be uploaded somewhere on a server or copied to a flash drive at the end of the shift.
Below you can see sample files of how the system could operate.
Let me know what you think.

Thank you for the info I need one as a prototype to demonstrate to our division that it works. This problem is so bad that one province in Canada just passed a law that one violation results in a $5000.00 find 1 year license suspension Any help is greatly appreciated. Ken

 

[Ken hales]

Thank you for the info I need one as a prototype to demonstrate to our division that it works. This problem is so bad that one province in Canada just passed a law that one violation results in a $5000.00 find 1 year license suspension Any help is greatly appreciated. Ken

 

[ashematian]

Thank you for the info I need one as a prototype to demonstrate to our division that it works. This problem is so bad that one province in Canada just passed a law that one violation results in a $5000.00 find 1 year license suspension Any help is greatly appreciated. Ken

Excellent. I'll talk to our manager about it and let you know.

 

[Nigel]

I am a school bus driver in Canada and need a dash camera that will accurately read lic. Plates. It is a safety issue people drive past my red lights when loading and unloading students. Can anyone help.

I'd suggest one of the higher resolution dashcams since you will be stopped and presumably normally on a road with low speed limit, so there will be not much motion blur. Something like the Viofo A119 V3 would be good. Maybe an A129 Pro Duo 4K if more money is available, with the dual cameras, the front facing 4K one can read the plates, and the lower resolution "rear" camera can look backwards or aim it at your mirror to actually capture the offence, not much point in having an image of a plate without evidence of an offence. Don't know how you capture that your "red lights" are on, we don't have such things here, like Kamkar, our kids are taught to wait for the bus to depart before crossing the road so that they can clearly see any danger and other road users can clearly see them.

 

[Ken hales]

I'd suggest one of the higher resolution dashcams since you will be stopped and presumably normally on a road with low speed limit, so there will be not much motion blur. Something like the Viofo A119 V3 would be good. Maybe an A129 Pro Duo 4K if more money is available, with the dual cameras, the front facing 4K one can read the plates, and the lower resolution "rear" camera can look backwards or aim it at your mirror to actually capture the offence, not much point in having an image of a plate without evidence of an offence. Don't know how you capture that your "red lights" are on, we don't have such things here, like Kamkar, our kids are taught to wait for the bus to depart before crossing the road so that they can clearly see any danger.

Thanks for the information I will look into the camera you suggested. Ken

 

[Ralph2]

If... it is as big and consistent issue as you seem to imply invite the local police to ride with you. We do not need vigilantly bus drivers and I doubt the police would be interested in your "video" anyway.

 

[kamkar]

In Denmark you can order a cop, normally in a ATC car to do some hours of speed ticketing in your town / road
I think this are still in effect though the country are severely starved for cops.

 

[viofo]

I remembered a Canada school bus company bought 80 pcs A119 from us last year.

For AI dash cam, I saw Ambarella is now focusing on such chipset, in 2018 CES, Ambarella showed a car installed such AI dash cam mirror, I saw the camera can recognize the front car and people.
It is their new CVFLOW series chipset.

 

[dbusguy]

This was on my Viofo A129 Duo. Hamilton Police used this video and laid charges against both drivers. Probably wouldn't work on cars across multiple lanes but would for those passing beside you. (quality down graded by youtube - original was crisp enough for plate recognition)

 

[DT MI]

Hamilton Police used this video and laid charges against both drivers.

Good for them.

 

[kamkar]

It just look so WTF to my Danish eyes, for sure something i will have to be very mindful about if i get to do my dream American tour.
CUZ i want to be a good guest, and you cant call yourself that if you are disrespectful about the local rules.
Another thing are that turn right on red thing,,,, i am sure i will get to hear some horns behind me.

 

[Ralph2]

Guess I would get ticketed there as well. Was not aware that on a 4 lane roadway.. separated by a turning lane the bus lights apply. In Alberta.. buses can only use the red lights in rural areas... which have only 2 or even no marked lanes.

 

[dash riposki]

wait until you get on a rural road in the US, with a house every 50 yards, and the bus stopping at each house. Not even enough time to pass the bus when the flashing light is off, and there is always one kid doing .5 mph off the bus, dropping his book bag, going back on the bus for some reason...

I think if you get local TV news media interested, the police get a bit more interested.

 

[Ken hales]

wait until you get on a rural road in the US, with a house every 50 yards, and the bus stopping at each house. Not even enough time to pass the bus when the flashing light is off, and there is always one kid doing .5 mph off the bus, dropping his book bag, going back on the bus for some reason...

I think if you get local TV news media interested, the police get a bit more interested.

I drive in a urban setting and I take my kids safety serious The drivers here do not take the safety of our young people into account when driving I am trying to find a camera that is capable of reading lic. Plates for prosecution I am not sure there is one that will mount on a bus

 

[dash riposki]

Just get a decent dash cam and start compiling video of incidents. Give them to local media, local politicians, (whoever does local level stuff) and so on.
You do not want them to begin to take notice after some kids get run over. Prosecution may not happen, but fear of prosecution slows a lot of people down.

I live now where there is next to no fear of real prosecution or consequences and it's a zoo.