As the new school year fast approaches the issue for the authorities and operators alike of dangerous student behaviour on buses will once again be centre stage. Disruptive pupils are problematic enough in a classroom environment but on a moving bus some of their antics can be positively life threatening. Typical incidents can range from minor damage to seats and graffiti to in the worst case scenario large-scale fights breaking out near the driver, distracting him or her from the road ahead with all the potential this has for accidents to occur.
Concerns over bad behaviour and its impact on other passengers and the overall safety of the bus are not confined to the UK; sadly this is as global phenomenon. In fact one of the real success stories with regards to addressing this issue comes from Tallahassee in Florida, where over the last four years they have rolled out mobile CCTV in more than a
hundred of the iconic yellow school buses.
The feedback from the Head of Bus Maintenance at the Tallahassee Public School Transportation Department, with regards to the impact of CCTV, is that they have found a major improvement in behaviour on the buses where it has been installed, with the key benefits being the ability to allow monitoring on the move and, crucially, the recording of vital evidence to assist school administrators in disciplining disruptive students responsible for actions ranging from vandalism to assault. They also saw a real advantage in the potential for video/audio footage to be shown to parents and if necessary supplied to law enforcement officials.
For anyone dealing with this problem the ability to actually present footage to parents has to be a step forward. All too often parents, where there are conflicting accounts from witnesses, will naturally be inclined to take the side of their son or daughter and believe that they would not be involved in such activities. Now however the footage provided by the mobile CCTV solution should dispel the doubts and bring much needed clarity to the debate, offering a greater chance for all
important parental support for any decision - a key ingredient in improving a student's future behaviour - and allowing definitive action to be taken.