Busted by a school bus safety camera!

Good morning! A first-hand account of how schools use cameras to enhance student safety...Yorktown Navy base and Dominion sign agreement that may lead to small nuclear power generator on base.

Jun 07, 2025

True confession time: I got busted by a school bus safety camera last month. And as more cameras go up to catch people behaving recklessly around Williamsburg-James City County schools, your chances will grow, too.

I consider myself a law-abiding citizen and wouldn’t dream of endangering children by passing a stopped school bus. So I was surprised to receive a civil violation notice last week with a link to a video showing me driving past a stopped school bus on Merrimac Trail.

The highway has a wide turn lane in the middle, which I erroneously thought meant I did not need to stop for a bus traveling in the opposite direction. Turns out the law does require you to stop, unless there is a raised median divider or an unpaved strip of median.

A school division spokesperson said all 160 buses in the WJCC school system are equipped with cameras that activate when the bus is stopped and has its stop arm extended. The program began in 2021, said James City County police spokesperson Tayleb Brooks.

It is operated by a company known as BusPatrol, which installs the equipment and takes a majority of the fine I paid.

James City County is also working with another vendor, Blue Line Solutions, to set up cameras on speed warning signs at seven schools in the county. Those signs will be equipped with cameras that will trigger $100 fines if you go faster than 35 m.p.h. in the school zone while the signs are flashing.

As with the bus program, video taken of an offending vehicle will first be reviewed by a police officer who must confirm the violation and the vehicle identification before a fine is issued. The county does not have a final date for the school program to start, but there will be a 30-day warning period and it will be announced on this web site.

Last year more than 2,700 people were caught by the school bus cameras, the WJCC school board’s safety committee reported. This year that number is down to 2,400, so it seems to be having the intended effect.

The civil fine generates significant revenue for the vendor, and some additional money for the schools.

BusPatrol takes the first cut of the civil penalty to cover a fee of $185 per month per bus. The rest is split 60/40 between the vendor and the schools. That should add up to more than $391,000 for BusPatrol this year from careless drivers in James City County.

Here’s the math:

2,400 violations @ $250 per = $600,000 in revenue.

$600,000 - $355,200 technology fee = $244,800 left to split

60% of $244,800 = 146,400 vendor share

40% of $244,800 = $97,920 school share

The school sign program will operate on a similar revenue split system.

Local officials say the goal of the camera systems are to ensure student safety, not generate revenue. Police say that during a five-day speed study conducted at three local schools in 2023, 66% of drivers exceeded the speed limit by more than 10 m.p.h. At Norge Elementary alone, 91% of drivers were speeding, police said.

Because it’s a civil violation, the citation does not get reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles and does not create points on your driving record if you pay on time, BusPatrol says. You have the right to take the matter to court but if you do, and the judge finds you guilty, then you do get the points on your license.

We spoke to one local attorney’s office who said they don’t normally take clients to challenge these citations, because the video evidence is so clear.

The new school speed sign cameras will be installed at Toano Middle School, Norge Elementary, Stonehouse Elementary, D.J. Montague Elementary, Clary Byrd Baker Elementary, James River Elementary and Lafayette High School.

You’ve been warned!

Yorktown base, Dominion sign agreement that may lead to nuclear power generator on site

Capt. Dan Patrick, seated left, and Ed Bain, right, sign memorandum. (U.S. Navy photo by Max Lonzanida)

The leaders of Dominion Energy Virginia and the Yorktown naval weapons station signed an agreement Friday that will probably lead to a small nuclear power reactor on the base in the next decade.

The two parties signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate what type of power supply could keep the lights on at the Navy base, and feed into the civilian power grid, in the event of a natural or man made disaster.

Dominion Energy Virginia CEO Ed Bain said the agreement might lead to using gas, wind or other technology in the short term, but that longer term a small modular reactor would be the permanent solution. Dominion previously announced it was installing a small reactor at its North Anna nuclear power station in partnership with Amazon, a major operator of internet data centers.

In the 18 months since the two parties began working together, a new administration has come into office downplaying the use of green energy sources. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month to accelerate the use of small modular reactors in military bases and for civilian use.

But Navy officials said this does not preclude them from choosing wind, solar, or natural gas if they present better options at Yorktown.

“I don’t feel at any point my hands are tied” in finding the best solution for the Yorktown base, said its commander, Capt. Dan Patrick.

“No matter what happens elsewhere, (this solution) keeps lights and power on at our base and in the community,” he said.

Bain said Dominion is evaluating several vendors for its small modular reactors, which he said would generate about 300 megawatts of power – about a third of what a generator at the utility’s Surry nuclear power plant produces. He said electricity demand is at its highest point since World War II, leading utilities to look for ways to expand electrical generating capacity.

The next 10-12 months will be spent evaluating locations on the Navy property to see what type of energy source would work best, Dominion officials said.

Dominion will build and operate the reactor, which will be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission according to civilian reactor standards, Bain said.

The two men said they were confident their organizations could safely operate a nuclear facility and handle its waste, given the decades of experience they each have with nuclear power.

The weapons base, which supports the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, was one of seven Navy and Marine Corps bases identified by the Pentagon as potential candidates for a nuclear-based power supply to keep them operating in the event of power disruptions, bad weather or cyberattacks.

Yorktown stores missiles and explosives for Navy ships along the East coast and offers other medical and logistical services.

9-1-1 callers can send video to rescuers now

Next time you call 9-1-1, you might receive a text prompt allowing you to share real time videos or photos of your emergency.

"We’re modernizing our 9-1-1 system through next generation technology and infrastructure to better serve our York, James City, Poquoson and Williamsburg residents and visitors alike," said Terry Hall, director of the Peninsula Regional Emergency Communications Center.

"When seconds matter, a clearer picture of an emergency can save lives. Letting a 9-1-1 caller share with first responders a video of an unfolding emergency will lead to better outcomes for everyone involved,” Hall added.

A caller can livestream video of a multicar crash so first responders can understand who is hurt and the right equipment to bring. Or a caller can send a photo of a missing family member with dementia tor help find them.

An estimated 80% of the more than 240 million 9-1-1 calls made in the U.S. each year come in through mobile devices, according to the National Emergency Number Association.

News that may affect your road travel:

York County closures coming next week

location of Victory Blvd. lane closures. (Vdot image)

Beginning as early as June 9, long-term single-lane closures will be implemented on Victory Boulevard (Route 171) for several weeks to allow for construction work in the median as part of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s roadway widening project in York County.

The left westbound travel lane on Victory Boulevard between Hampton Highway and George Washington Memorial Highway will be closed during this work. Of the two existing westbound left-turn lanes from Victory Boulevard to George Washington Memorial Highway, the inside left-turn lane will also temporarily close. The outside left-turn lane will remain open to traffic.

Both closures are estimated to be in place through early July. All work is weather- and schedule-dependent; therefore, this schedule is subject to change.

Additional temporary eastbound single-lane closures will also be implemented as needed on Victory Boulevard between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Triathlon will impact James City roads, parks and trails this weekend

The Jamestown Olympic & Jamestown Sprint Triathlons take place this weekend on Sunday, June 8. Motorists may encounter delays along Jamestown Road, Greensprings Road and Route 5.

Several County parks and trails will be impacted by the event. The cycling, running and swimming events will be held at Jamestown Beach Event Park, along Greensprings Interpretive Trail, Powhatan Creek Trail and the Virginia Capital Trail from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

At Jamestown Beach, the beachfront, off-leash dog area and trails will remain open during the event; however, beach visitors and trail users should expect heavy swimming, cycling, and running traffic—please be alert for race participants passing.