THOUGHT LEADER
Video Evolution or Revolution? Written by Robert Scott B
ack in the day, a couple cameras, front and back, provided the beginning of video as an asset on school buses. Footage provided some evidence to confirm behavioral issues and
driver actions. It helped when dealing with “he said, she said.” and low resolution, low frame rate, historical re- cords. Fast forward to today and video means something completely different to school bus professionals. Video is now used to provide detailed evidence of
stop-arm violations, passenger and driver activity inside the bus, activity around doors and lifts, and to place vid- eo location geospatially, track the bus historically and in real time, and offer evidentiary background for insurance and legal processes. Video is now used to review driver performance and operational issues like bus stop activity. The original basic tool is now an integral technology within the modern school bus oper- ation, where technology plays a leading role. GPS has been attached to
video for some time now, but advances in review software have made the link between video and tracking power- ful. With the right review software, locating video by selecting a location on a map can speed up the process, which creates a great re- view tool. Want to review bus stop procedure? Click on each stop along the route and jump to the related video. Locate idling events with a simple mouse click. Create a spatial link with video records to make the whole process come to life. The evidence becomes more compelling. School bus operators and insurance providers have
come to understand the value of “seeing” the road ahead as well as behind. Video evidence of accidents and incidents around the exterior of the bus can make the difference in determining liability. Reducing the time to a final legal determination saves money and the anguish attached to difficult outcomes. A video system with a
48 School Transportation News • NOVEMBER 2023
“Video solutions are very different now, and much of the equipment out in the field is obsolete. Life cycle has been addressed properly by neither the customer nor the supplier.”
proprietary process that can satisfy a court of its authen- ticity will greatly assist when solid evidence is needed. Video programs, like much of the technology now used in operations, have had to be added into the daily work schedules of both administrative and maintenance staff. Indeed, in large fleets we often find staff mem- bers dedicated to running the video program. Video is reviewed in the transportation department and at the school. Getting video in front of the right person at the right time and place becomes a major issue to manage. The old approach of pulling hard drives from the bus has become too time consum- ing in the modern, fast-paced environment, and the indus- try now looks to wireless and cloud-based solutions. This piece to the puzzle is evolving at a rapid rate. Transferring video is now done via Wi-Fi and cellular service. Getting the right combination is something to be studied. Jumping to a cellular process is now possi- ble, but performance should be examined. What are your expectations?
If speed is your focus, pay at- tention to how that translates in actual performance. Uploading seven cameras worth of data at high resolution and frame rate is a lot of data. Time becomes an issue. Figure out the actu- al performance and compare
to your expectations. Do they match? Is there a better formula? That is to say, Wi-Fi will continue to play a role especially in large fleets with complex review programs. These technologies can make management of video
very efficient if we get the technology mix right. And what about the next step to use video hardware as the data source for other technology like live tracking and parent apps? This is possible with the right integrated video hardware. Video evidence of stop-arm violations is now be- ing used across the country. Again, there are different approaches taken and views of effectiveness. Should we
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