Does the memory “recycle,” or is it saved forever in some school room?
The answer for this question usually depends on the application or resources the customer has.
For example, in the Police Patrol Wagon Suspect, Prisoner & Inmate in-Custody Transport Camera application the video files are considered the evidence and as such, cannot be destroyed for a defined period as they may be required at a later date. Police departments maintain large evidence rooms for storage of these type of materials that might be needed later in the future as cases are sometimes reinvestigated.
Special Needs Wheelchair School Bus Video Surveillance Systems applications usually are civil issues not criminal so the rules are less stringent, and usually, they can get by with the memory storage device on the school bus camera DVR being able to store 1-2 weeks of video files before they are recycled in the School Bus Digital Eye Witness Camera Recording system, so for those applications we encourage our customers to get a larger memory storage device.


Are bus cameras live-streamed to the principal or superintendent’s office?
This is an interesting question as it concerns immediate oversight and consequences with a school bus video camera system equipped with bus passengers’ actions.
ABV offers this capability in our cellular-based School Bus Stop Arm Camera Systems, it is also offered in our Armored Vehicle VIP Transport Video Camera Systems and the Police Patrol Wagon Suspect, Prisoner & Inmate in-Custody Transport Camera systems that transport suspects/inmates from place to place.
Many school bus drivers tell unruly students that the system in their bus is transmitting the video live to the superintendent’s or principal’s office in order o maintain the good behavior on the bus or associate a correlation between the bad child behaviors with future consequences with getting them to behave. ABV neither recommends not discourages this psychological ops trick to get children o behave on a bus and these decisions are entirely the dominion of the driver and school staff to make.


Are bus cameras live-streamed to cloud-based storage?
Not usually due to the immense bandwidth and cost of transferring that much data to cloud-based storage. The cost for live streaming can be up to $1,300 per bus per month based on information from one of our Emergency Medical Transit Camera Surveillance Systems customers. So in reality, only the federal government and those reimbursed for cellular bandwidth can afford live streaming in most applications.
This differs from those seeking Affordable School Video Bus Camera Security Surveillance Systems who want the video files accessible to all from a cloud-based server. This can be achieved by either manually loading files from SD or SSD storage devices to the school district cloud-based server, then once up, there all can access them without the high cost of the cellular bandwidth.



Do school bus camera drivers have a “Panic Button”?
Yes and No, permit me to dilate upon that answer.

When a Vehicle Video Camera Surveillance Security system is cellular-based, it can then support live or real-time alerts to the CMS or control center.
For example, when Elderly Day Care Shuttle & Assisted Living Transportation Vehicle Video Camera equipped systems are cellular-based, and there is a medical emergency with a passenger the driver or drivers aid can immediately press the “Panic Button” alerting the CMS or operations control center,, that there is an urgent alert and they need assistance. 2-way communications will then permit the driver or driver’s aid to explain the situation so that emergency services can be alerted for a response.

The same situation can be experienced in a Police Patrol Wagon Suspect, Prisoner & Inmate in-Custody Transport Camera equipped vehicle when a suspect or prisoner is viewed on the Driver cabin LCD display, intentionally banging their head against a wall or kicking at the windows or in cases where they may have ingested their contraband drugs to avoid detection then suffer massive drug overdose and start convulsing in a life or death situation. The live features of the prisoner camera transport system can then support the Panic Button feature alerting others of the situation so they can view what is happening in the vehicle in real time.

However, I am not aware of a single school bus equipped with a Live Cellular Streaming School Bus Camera system. Even the high-risk applications in Public School pupil student transportation such as Low Price Special Needs Wheelchair School Bus Video Surveillance Camera Systems, do not employ a cellular streaming system so in all school bus camera applications, I know of the so-called “Panic Button” is actually improperly named and in some cases labeled.

Due to the fact the buttons do not have a cellular streaming mechanism to transmit the data, they are actually in “Driver Event Marker Buttons”, and nothing more.
When the bus driver presses the button, it creates a line on the playback chart or a log entry showing the time and date of the button activation for later review of what happened to get the driver to press the button.



Does every school bus cameras have a microphone?
No.
I cannot speak for every company selling these systems. Still, in general, the microphone is an option on most camera systems because in some applications, there are privacy concerns that may make the use of a microphone a violation of law.
All interior cameras ABV provides for Low Cost School Bus Video Security Camera systems have built-in audio or microphone in each camera head. The cameras we use for External applications like School Bus Stop Arm Crossing Gate Violations Cameras do not have audio capabilities as the microphone is not in the camera to ensure water can’t get into the case.

Companies that provide Before & After Care School Child Day Care Pickup In-vehicle Shuttle Safety Cameras equipped vehicles may choose not to enable the audio as this may be a private carrier and they are transporting young children so they may require the permission of the parents; this would be a choice best left to the attorney of the carrier to ensure they’re not adding any risk by adding the audio.
​Head Start  Pre-K Pre-School Nursery School Child Safety Bus Camera Recorder system-equipped vehicles may also share the same concerns as they are in some cases, private transportation and not a municipal government-owned and operated vehicle where there is no expectation of privacy.




Do all school bus cameras have night vision?
Generally, yes to illuminate the bus in low-light situations.
The way to know for certain is to see if the camera has LEDs, usually in a ring around the camera lens. Because LEDs are Infrared and radiate light in a spectrum not visible to the human eye, it is unlikely you will see them illuminate in the dark.

There have been instances where problem youth have been transported in a vehicle that had Alternative School & Juvenile Detention Bus Security Cameras installed and in the darkness, they were not aware of the camera, only later to find out their bad behaviors were recorded in clear high definition.

Because of the fact IR LEDs are not visible to the Human eye, and in total darkness, the Surveillance Warning sticklers we provide with the systems are not visible, I asked out camera suppliers long ago to spec our night vision cameras with very high-intensity IOR LEDs, as during our testing of cameras for distance in night recording, I noticed a certain frequency caused the IR LEDs to glow red not from the light they were transmitting but due to the high temperature of the diodes themself getting red hot inside the LED bulb.

The view of 20-30 glowing red diodes in the camera benefits the below application:
Armored Vehicle VIP Transport Video Camera Systems
Transportation Ministry Youth Activities Church Bus Camera System
Casino Customer Shuttle Bus Video Surveillance Safety Cameras
Special Needs Wheelchair School Bus Video Surveillance Systems

Even when they cannot read the warning decals, they can see the glowing red cameras in the darkens recording their activities.



Should you have any questions or concerns or require more information about Testudo Lifetime System Warranty School Bus Camera Systems, various applications or School Bus Student Transportation Video Camera Recorder configurations, please let us know. We will be happy to offer our 35+ years of market experience in sales and service of digital recording devices to respond to your concerns or questions.