Drivers risk $200 fines after getting ‘evidence’ of them breaking the law via mail – 10,000 residents were sent letters | D2E53XR | 2024-05-09 12:08:01
Drivers risk $200 fines after getting 'evidence' of them breaking the law via mail – 10,000 residents were sent letters | D2E53XR | 2024-05-09 12:08:01
DRIVERS who illegally pass a stopped school bus will now face a $200 fine if caught in a certain area – and they won't receive a warning first.
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 deployed.
The reason is that vulnerable children could be crossing by the front of the bus to cross the street, putting them at high risk of being struck by a vehicle.
Starting May 8, those who pass a stopped school bus in Miami-Dade County will face an immediate fine of $200 in a bid to clamp down on safety.
The pilot program has sent over 10,000 notices to dangerous drivers.
A recent study by the Center for Urban Transportation in Florida stated that data from 58 school districts representing over 11,000 buses found that 10,590 vehicles were recorded passing 3,427 buses in one day.
"Perhaps the most surprising finding obtained from the recorded data was the number of private motorists that illegally passed stopped school buses on the loading/unloading side: nearly four percent (415) of the recorded illegal passes occurred on the door side of the stopped school buses," the study read.
Other reported data included the fact that a majority of passes occurred at school bus stops where one to five students were crossing, and that the strobe lights were activated.
The state's law states that drivers must stop when the lights are flashing and remain stopped until the lights are deactivated.
To curb further passing, the Miami-Dade County Police and Miami-Dade County Public Schools in the Sunshine State have funded a program involving cameras equipped with technology to capture footage of vehicles illegally passing stopped buses.
Footage will be sent to a human being for review.
Bus Patrol, the private company partnering with the police and school district says that the technology is 30 percent more accurate at capturing violations than humans.
If the footage shows an illegal pass, the vehicle's registered owner received a warning in the mail.
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> Those 10,590 drivers were sent warnings – but as of tomorrow, May 8, the warnings will be replaced with a $200 ticket.
If the fine isn't paid within 30 days the violator's license could be suspended.
A license suspension automatically leads to a bench warrant.
"It's very serious, they see the stop arms and they just run it," Kashmere Centino, a school bus driver, said during a media drive recorded by NBC affiliate WTVJ.
"When you see the stop arms, we have a student getting on the bus or getting off."
The project cost around $10 million to have installed on more than 1,000 buses, as each camera cost the city around $10,000.
Each bus has around eight cameras on the outside, which can monitor eight lanes of traffic.
</div> </div> However, the lives that will hopefully be saved with the guarantee of a hefty fine for risking a child's life don't have a price tag.
Florida isn't the only state targeting impatient drivers risking the lives of schoolchildren.
In December 2022, Pennsylvania announced its plan to fit school buses with cameras from BusPatrol to issue $300 to those illegally passing stopped buses, reported FOX affiliate WTXF-TV.
"Anything that's going to make the children safer getting on and off the bus is a great thing," said Jim Stewart, the Transportation Director at Chichester Public Schools.
"Unfortunately, there's been too many sad occurrences that have happened throughout the nation."
The program has been active since early 2023, which captured more than 8,000 illegal passes within four months – equaling eight violations per bus, BusPatrol reported.
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