Failure to stop for a school bus with its stop arm extended and red lights flashing will result in a citation and a $225 fine beginning May 1.
Conversations surrounding school bus stop-arm cameras began last year, when the Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) Board approved a three-year partnership with BusPatrol America for this program at its October board meeting. Statistics show an alarming number of drivers illegally passing a stopped school bus: According to DCPS, Duval County recorded more than 800 school bus stop-arm camera violations in a single day last year; statewide, that number grew to more than 8,000. Data shows there are more than 40,000 stop-arm violations annually.
Citing recent events, DCPS Board Member Cindy Pearson emphasized the dangers students and families face at the hands of distracted or unsafe drivers.
“School buses are big and yellow and have flashing lights. Within a week, Duval drivers rear-ended two school buses that were stopped at railroad tracks,” Pearson said. “Drivers frequently speed around school buses that are stopped to load or unload students. Unfortunately, students and parents have been struck by cars who were attempting to circumvent a bus stop arm.”
To that end, BusPatrol America Chief Growth Officer Steve Randazzo said this program is a proven deterrent to drivers illegally passing a stopped school bus.
“Our programs demonstrate that over 90% of folks who get one violation in the mail never repeat offend,” Randazzo said.
BusPatrol America retrofitted the fleet of 900-plus DCPS school buses with stop arm cameras that will capture video and license plate information of vehicles illegally passing a stopped school bus in March and April. Randazzo stated BusPatrol absorbed all the capital for this program and, according to DCPS, it will not cost the district any money with ongoing funding for the program coming from citations revenue.
Beginning May 1, these citations will include the $225 fine. State statutes establish the fines for this program, which do not increase with repeat violations. These citations are different from a moving violation issued by a police officer, added Duval County Schools Chief of Police Jackson Short.
“There’s no escalation, there’s no points [on your driver’s license], there’s no effect on car insurance, which is different than a traditional moving violation that you would get from a regular police officer,” Short said.
Once a citation is processed and reviewed, it will be mailed to the registered driver of the vehicle. If they were not the driver, they can transfer the ticket through an online portal to the responsible driver.
According to published reports, Miami-Dade County had suspended its program with BusPatrol America earlier this year. The published reports cited numerous issues, including improper citations and an inability for drivers to contest their tickets.
Short said DCPS is taking steps to prevent erroneous citations, including human review of AI-generated photos and videos recorded by the cameras and dismissing citations that don’t meet its internal threshold for approval.
“The state law says that the stop sign doesn’t have to be out, just the red lights have to be flashing, so the AI technology that BusPatrol uses, they’ll send us a violation that they think could result in a citation,” Short said. “And what we see is, yes, the red lights are on, but the stop sign on the bus hasn’t come out yet. So, for those, to give that extra bit of grace to our drivers, we’re not approving those citations either, although the AI technology correctly caught it because just the red lights flashing alone is enough.”
Short said another step DCPS has taken to address some of the issues cited in the reports out of Miami is ensuring drivers can contest their citations before an administrative judge through a partnership with the state’s Department of Administrative Hearings. Short said DCPS already partners with this government entity for human resources issues.
“They’re partnering with us also so that our drivers can have their day in court and have their due process if they want to challenge the citation that they get,” Short said.
According to Randazzo, the Miami-Dade County School Board voted at its April 22 meeting to reauthorize its School Bus Infraction Detection Program, authorizing its superintendent to execute an amended contract with BusPatrol America.
Funds generated from this program here in Duval County will be split 50-50 between the district and BusPatrol America. By state statute, the district must spend funds from this program on student transportation safety.
“There’s an opportunity for safety enhancements, not only to our school buses, but also the statute allows hiring inventors and salary incentives for our school bus drivers,” Short said.
According to DCPS, the district has approximately 30,000 daily bus riders.
