DRIVERS who pass stopped school buses will no longer receive warnings – from May 8 they will be charged $200.
The pilot program sent more than 10,000 warnings to dangerous drivers.
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In the United States, it is illegal to pass a school bus if it is stopped, the red lights are flashing, and the stop sign is on.
The reason is that vulnerable children may cross in front of the bus to cross the street, putting them at high risk of being hit by a vehicle.
A recent study by the Florida Urban Transportation Center stated that data from 58 school districts representing more than 11,000 buses revealed that 10,590 vehicles were recorded passing 3,427 buses in one day.
“Perhaps the most surprising finding from the recorded data was the number of private drivers who illegally passed school buses parked on the loading/unloading side: almost four percent (415) of recorded illegal passes occurred on the school door side bus stop”, the study to read.
Other data reported included the fact that most overtaking occurred at school bus stops where one to five students were crossing, and that strobe lights were activated.
State law states that drivers must stop when lights are flashing and remain stopped until the lights are deactivated.
To prevent further overtaking, the Miami-Dade County Police and Miami-Dade County Public Police Schools in the Sunshine State have funded a program that involves cameras equipped with technology to capture images of vehicles illegally passing stopped buses.
The footage will be sent to a human to analysis.
Bus Patrol, a private company that partners with the police and school district, says the technology is 30% more accurate at catching violations than humans.
If the footage showed an illegal pass, the vehicle’s registered owner received a notice in the mail.
Those 10,590 drivers were issued warnings – but from tomorrow, May 8, the warnings will be replaced with a $200 fine.
If the fine is not paid within 30 days, the offender’s license may be suspended.
A license suspension automatically leads to a court order.
“It’s very serious, they see the arms standing still and they just drive them,” school bus driver Kashmere Centino said during a media campaign recorded by the NBC affiliate. WTVJ.
“When you see the arms stopped, we have a student getting on or off the bus.”
The project cost about $10 million to install on more than 1,000 buses, as each camera cost the city about $10,000.
Each bus has around eight external cameras, which can monitor eight lanes of traffic.
School bus ticket laws
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA), it is illegal in all 50 states to pass a school bus when it is stopped, the red strobe lights are flashing, and the stop sign is on.
“All states require that traffic in both directions stop on undivided highways when students enter or exit a school bus,” the agency’s website says.
Florida launched a program in May 2024 that will cite drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses with the help of AI-powered cameras to capture images of the violators, citing a key law.
In Florida, Chapter 316, Title 19, says:
- Any person using, operating or driving a vehicle upon the roads or highways of this state shall, when approaching any school bus displaying a stop sign, come to a complete stop of such vehicle while the bus is stopped, and the vehicle shall not overtake the bus school until the sign is removed. Anyone who violates this section commits a movable offense, punishable as provided in chapter 318.
- Any person who uses, operates, or drives a vehicle that passes a school bus on the side on which children enter and exit when the school bus displays a stop sign commits a moving violation, punishable as provided in Chapter 318, and is subject to a mandatory hearing under the provisions of s. 318.19
Source: NHSTA, Florida Legislature
However, the lives expected to be saved with the guarantee of a hefty fine for risking a child’s life are priceless.
Florida isn’t the only state targeting impatient drivers who risk the lives of schoolchildren.
In December 2022, Pennsylvania announced its plan to equip school buses with BusPatrol cameras to issue $300 to stopped buses passing illegally, the FOX affiliate reported. WTXF-TV.
“Anything that makes kids safer getting on and off the bus is great,” said Chichester Public Schools Director of Transportation Jim Stewart.
“Unfortunately, there have been many sad occurrences across the country.”
The program has been active since early 2023, and has caught more than 8,000 illegal passes in four months – equating to eight violations per bus, BusPatrol reported.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
