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Last Tuesday I'm sitting in the pickup line, doing the usual scroll-through-my-phone thing while waiting for my kid. The buses start coming out from the back lot—stop signs out, lights flashing, the whole deal.
And then this silver sedan just... blows past one. Had to be doing 40, maybe more. There were kids on the curb. Right there. The bus driver lays on the horn and I literally felt my chest get tight. The car didn't even tap the brakes.
I'm sitting there white-knuckling my steering wheel thinking, that could've been somebody's kid. Hell, that could've been MY kid.
So I looked it up later because I couldn't shake it. Turns out I'm nowhere near the only parent who's seen stuff like this. A survey came out recently—2,000 parents across the country—and what I felt in that moment? Yeah, it's pretty much everywhere. And parents are getting loud about wanting something done.
What Parents Are Actually Seeing Out There
So here's what really got me when I read through this data:
43% of parents have seen a near-miss in a school zone. 33% have watched it happen around a stopped bus.
Think about that for a second. Almost half of us have had that moment where you're watching a kid and a car and your brain is just screaming STOP. You know the feeling I'm talking about. Time does that weird slow-motion thing and you're holding your breath.
And if you're in Texas—especially around Prosper, Frisco, Denton—you KNOW how sketchy it gets. These wide-ass roads, everybody's in a hurry, and somehow 35 mph in a school zone feels like a suggestion instead of a law.
This isn't some rare thing. It's happening literally every day during pickup and drop-off.
Turns Out 82% of Parents Want Cameras on the Buses
The survey asked parents what they actually want done about all this. The numbers were pretty clear:
82% said yeah, put cameras on the buses to catch people who blow past them.
70% want them in school zones too.
Now "automated enforcement" sounds like some government buzzword, but it's really pretty simple. It's just a camera. On the bus or posted in the zone. Driver speeds through or passes a stopped bus? Camera snags the plate. Ticket shows up in the mail. Done. No cop has to be standing there, no excuses, no nothing.
Why are so many parents all in on this?
Honestly? We're just tired. Tired of hoping people will do the right thing. Tired of crossing our fingers every morning. We want actual consequences that mean something.
OK But Do These Cameras Actually Work?
This is where it gets interesting. Like, really interesting.
The data from places that already have these cameras:
- Violations drop by 50% in the first two months. TWO MONTHS.
- 98% of people who get one ticket never get another one
- Speeding drops 94% where they put cameras in school zones
Read that middle one again. People get the ticket, they learn their lesson, they don't do it again. It's not some money grab that doesn't change anything. It actually works.
And honestly, as a parent, that's what I care about. Not theories. Not promises. Results. These cameras get results.
Why This Feels Extra Real for Texas Parents
Look, if you live around here—Prosper, Frisco, McKinney, Denton, any of these North Texas suburbs—you already know.
Our roads are massive. Everything's spread out. And I don't know what it is, but people drive like school zones are just mild suggestions. I've seen people absolutely flying down Preston during drop-off like they're trying to make a flight. Cars cutting around buses on Coit. The Prosper ISD pickup situation is its own special kind of chaos.
Texas is exploding right now. More families moving in, more kids, more cars, and honestly our roads weren't really built for this. So you've got all these students, all this traffic, and our kids are just... in the middle of it all.
This isn't just some national problem we're reading about. This is happening right here. Our streets. Our neighborhoods. Our kids walking to school.
What Else Parents Are Asking For
Cameras aren't the only thing on parents' wish lists. People want a bunch of stuff:
More speed bumps. More crossing guards at the crazy intersections. Better signs that actually make drivers pay attention. Traffic lights that give kids more time to cross. And yeah, more cops actually being visible around schools, not just cameras.
What this tells me is we're not looking for one magic fix. We want everything. Physical stuff to slow cars down. Actual humans keeping watch. Technology. New rules. The works.
Because when it's your kid out there, you want every single layer of protection you can get.
What You Can Actually Do About This
Here's the thing—you don't have to just sit around worrying. You can do something.
Email your school board. Show up to a PTA meeting. Message your district's transportation person. And ask them:
- Do we have stop-arm cameras on our buses?
- Any speed cameras in our school zones?
- What's the data on near-misses or violations in our district?
- What are we currently doing about dangerous driving?
- If we don't have these programs, what would it take to get them started?
Don't wait around for someone else to say something. If 82% of parents are on board with this, your voice counts. When enough parents start asking questions, districts have to pay attention.
Where All This Data Comes From
Just so you know where I'm getting all this—it's from a survey Verra Mobility did for this school year. They talked to 2,000 parents and caregivers around the country.
I'm not shilling for them or anything. I just think it's important that somebody's actually listening to what parents are seeing and dealing with.
The Bottom Line
I keep thinking about that silver sedan. How fast it was going. How close it came.
We tell our kids look both ways, watch for cars, be careful, all of that. And they do their best.
But maybe we need to stop acting like it's all on them.
Maybe it's time we actually force drivers to pay attention too.
Because if 82% of parents want this, and the data shows it works, and near-misses are happening every single day... what exactly are we waiting for?
Questions People Keep Asking
Is it actually illegal to pass a stopped school bus in Texas?
Yeah, it is. When that stop sign swings out and the lights start flashing, you have to stop. Doesn't matter which direction you're coming from. Only exception is if there's a physical barrier dividing the highway. First offense can cost you up to $1,250.
Do the cameras actually make people stop doing it?
They really do. Programs see about a 50% drop in violations in just the first couple months. And here's the kicker—98% of people who get one ticket never get another. So yeah, it changes behavior.
What's "automated enforcement" mean in regular English?
It's cameras that catch speeders in school zones. Car goes too fast, camera gets the plate, ticket goes in the mail. Pretty straightforward. And studies show speeding drops by 94% where they put these cameras.
How can parents actually push for this stuff?
Show up. Go to school board meetings. Email your district's transportation office. Start or join parent groups. Ask specific questions about what's in place and what could be. Bringing data like this survey helps too—it's harder for them to ignore when you've got numbers backing you up.
