11 Investigates: More trouble with bus camera citation program

PITTSBURGH — A driver who received a $300 citation for passing a school bus on Brownsville Road back in November agreed to talk to us as long as we concealed his identity.

He said he didn’t do anything wrong and the video proves it, but he received a citation anyway.

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“Anybody who looked at this video would have clearly seen this was not a violation,” the man told Channel 11′s chief investigator Rick Earle.

He said the red lights were not on, and the school bus stop arm wasn’t out.

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Driver: I could see the yellow lights come on and I passed it.

Earle: The red lights weren’t on at that point?

Driver: Of course not. The red lights were not on, and there’s no way to stop.

He immediately called the number on the citation to fight it but was told they weren’t scheduling any hearings.

He then received a voice message confirming that.

But three weeks later, imagine his surprise when he received an overdue notice from Pittsburgh Public Schools, requesting payment and threatening him with additional fines.

Earle: What was your reaction when you got that?

Driver: I was livid, and at the same time I saw your report that there was all these other people in similar situations so I reached out to you.

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At a news conference last week with Pittsburgh Public Schools, the company that operates the camera system, BusPatrol, said after numerous complaints about the appeals process it was implementing a new system, approved by the Pennsylvania legislature, and appeals will now be heard virtually by a PennDOT hearing officer, not a district judge, and there will be no filing fee.

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“It really provides the ability to be a little bit more efficient, a little more effective, and to provide some additional peace of mind,” said Jason Elan, a spokesperson for BusPatrol.

But the driver we spoke with who received that threatening overdue notice after being told he couldn’t schedule a hearing yet, said it hasn’t given him any peace of mind.

“It’s nuts.  It’s nuts.  I can’t believe that the school board would allow this to occur under their name.  It’s fraud.  It’s straight-up fraud,” said the driver.

A spokesman for BusPatrol said the call taker made a mistake during the transition period and should have told that driver to go to a district judge.

BusPatrol has apologized to the driver.

The spokesman said all citations issued before Dec. 22 will still go to the district judge.

Anything issued after that will go to the new PennDOT hearing officer.

That change was approved by state lawmakers.

But BusPatrol and PennDOT still don’t have all the details worked out and they’re still not scheduling any hearings.

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