Security cameras tested aboard N.J. buses

Oct 24, 2006 3:08 PM

People on board or driving next to New Jersey Transit buses might want to be on their best behavior because they could be on the bus-cam.

NJ Transit is testing two different types of windshield-mounted cameras to determine if they help security inside the bus, help drivers avoid accidents and enable investigators to reconstruct circumstances leading to crashes, The Asbury Park Press reports.

Two tests are under way to test two types of cameras.

One test is for a conventional camera system, while others buses will test the "Drive Cam" system from San Diego-based Drive Cam.

Drive Cam digitally records images both inside and outside the bus, constantly taping over that information every 20 seconds unless the bus is involved an accident or the driver hits a switch to save the current images, says Jim Gigantino, NJ Transit acting vice president and general manager of bus operations.

When triggered, the Drive Cam saves 10 seconds of images recorded before the switch was hit and 10 seconds afterward. The images are downloaded when the bus returns to the garage.

"If someone points a gun at the bus operator and the operator triggers the device, we'd have the 10 seconds before initiation, so we would see the person walk up the aisle and the 10 seconds after," Gigantino says.

In the case of an accident, the Drive Cam would be triggered to save images if erratic movement of the bus is detected, he says.

Cameras in the two test programs are mounted in both urban-style local transit buses and long-distance commuter buses.

"Transit agencies have to come to grips with protecting equipment from terrorism," Gigantino says. "Bus carriers have used cameras to deter claims, for safety reasons and as a deterrent to negative behavior by some people on the bus."

Transit industry research has shown that camera systems deter fraudulent claims after accidents and that many smaller bus carriers have turned to cameras to reduce insurance costs, he adds.

NJ Transit officials will examine the system for a year.

"We figure any new technology has some bumps in the road," Gigantino says. "If it works, we'd like to expand it across the system."

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