Illegally passing a school bus in Howard County will be worth a $250 fine starting April 1. Cameras have been recently placed on buses to take a picture of the plates that illegally pass the bus. The bus has to be stopped for picking up or dropping off children to be considered illegally passing. During the rest of March, violators are currently being issued warnings. The new cameras on the school buses have been running since March 1. 

According to the Baltimore Sun, a survey done of Howard County buses drivers, 290 cars failed to stop when the bus did, though this statics is from before the pandemic hit. 

Howard County Police Chief Lisa Myers spoke on the situation. “The most common complaints we receive at the police department are about traffic violations, often in the very residential communities where school buses are picking up and dropping off our children,” reports the Baltimore Sun.

Howard County Superintendent Michael Martirano addressed the problem saying, “Every day, too many drivers are traveling in an unsafe manner near our bus stops and in our school zones, putting our children at great risk.”