Stop Arm Camera 2: Overview

The triple-lens Stop Arm Camera 2 supports school transportation safety by automatically recognizing, capturing, and storing evidence of vehicles passing a bus that has enabled its stop arm. 

Drivers who pass a bus with an enabled stop arm violate the no-passing law and can be fined. If their actions result in injury or death, they face criminal charges.

The Stop Arm Camera 2 works alongside the Ranger DVR to capture and store the required evidence to file these infractions and/or charges. 

How It Works 

The Stop Arm Camera 2 is installed on the driver's side of the bus, where it can receive trigger and visual input from the stop arm. When the bus stop arm is deployed, the front wide-angle (180°) lens searches for passing cars and pre-records while the two (2) narrow-angle lenses buffer HD images (>1080P) to capture a detected vehicle's license plate. 

Each time an infraction is detected, the Stop Arm Camera will:  

1. Generate a unique "Event ID" with the device serial number, date, and a sequential number for the event.
   • For example, a camera with the serial number (2307SA0001) detecting a second vehicle (0002) on October 22nd, 2024 (20241022) would generate the "Event ID" 2307SA0001202410220002.
2. Create a folder named the Event ID. 
3. Search buffered high-resolution images for a clear license plate image to extract the number. 
4. Write the event metadata file. 
   • The file will include the event ID, bus number, date and time, time (in milliseconds) between stop arm deployment and infraction, GPS location, and the detected license plate.
5. Store a video of two seconds pre-event and two seconds post-event recording from the wide-angle lens view and the license plate images from the high-resolution lenses. 

Event folders are initially written in the camera, copied to the Ranger DVR's "StopArm" folder, and removed from the camera memory. The user may then access the event folder through their DVR storage or CloudConnect software. If automated ticketing is enabled through CloudConnect, the Pro-Vision cloud server will synchronize event folders to the server's ticketing partner when the DVR offloads video data. 

The Camera

The Stop Arm Camera 2 is encased in a waterproof (IP67 rated) yellow and black housing so it may be securely mounted on the driver's side of the bus while remaining discrete. The device is comprised of: 

• Two (2) narrow-focus lenses to capture high-resolution (>1080P) images of vehicle license plates.  
• Two (2) infrared LEDs for low-light and night-vision performance. 
• One (1) wide-angle (180°) lens used by the camera's computer vision for vehicle detection and pre and post-event video recording. 
• A light sensor used to control the infrared lights for low-light and night-vision performance. 
• A built-in microphone to capture audio for the wide-angle video feed.

The Connections

The Stop Arm Camera 2 has two (2) connections: a red trigger wire and an Ethernet cable.

• The small red trigger wire connects to the Stop Arm trigger wire, signaling to the camera each time the Stop Arm is extended.
• The Ethernet wire connects to a 15 ft Ethernet extension, which then connects to a Passive PoE Cable Assembly, which splits into Ethernet and a four (4) pin connector.
  • This connection provides the camera with passive power (12 Vdc PoE) from the DVR and allows the transfer of event file folders.
    
    

• Before installation, please read the Stop Arm Camera 2: Installation article to understand the device and ensure accurate installation.
  
• To learn more about viewing event files, see Stop Arm Camera 2: Viewing Files.