Cameras on school buses in Miami fined 11,500 drivers in two weeks.

Around 11,500 drivers have been fined in Miami-Dade since the start of classes in the county's public schools two weeks ago, thanks to the control camera system that detects and fines drivers who do not stop for school buses.

These violations amount to an average of 1,600 per school day, according to the Miami-Dade Police Department.

Thirteen days into the 2024/2025 school year in the county, the total amount of fines for offenders would amount to about 2.5 million dollars - 225 dollars for each fine - according to a report from the Miami Herald.

In July 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation that authorized the state's school districts to use cameras to detect and fine drivers of vehicles that pass stopped school buses.

The law that requires drivers to stop for school buses with flashing red lights and extended STOP signs on the front and back was already in effect at that time, but the approval for the installation of cameras meant an increase in monitoring of drivers and fines for those who disobey the regulations.

Currently, there are 950 school buses equipped with cameras circulating in the county, designed to capture vehicles that illegally pass them, since the launch in May of the largest camera enforcement program for school bus stop violations in the United States.

This initiative was implemented through a collaboration agreement between the Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS), the Miami-Dade Police Department, and BusPatrol, a private company that manages the buses and the technology that photographs the license plates of vehicles that do not stop.

This technological system operates through high-resolution artificial intelligence, which is activated when the school bus signal is extended. While the flashing stop sign arm of the bus is deployed, drivers of other vehicles are required to stop until the signal stops flashing.

During this year, an average of 1,600 fines have been issued per school day. The money collected is reinvested in the program, stated Miami Herald.

According to data from the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS), school buses are illegally passed approximately 43.5 million times each school year in the U.S.

“Numerous accidents have occurred across the country in which children have been run over while getting off a bus and have been injured; it is a major safety issue,” stated Officer Andre Martin of the Miami-Dade Police Department. “With the number of violations we are seeing, it is a miracle that we don’t have more accidents.”

A video published by the Miami-Dade Police on the social network X at the end of August shows drivers illegally passing school buses while the STOP signs are flashing on the front and back of the buses.

In April, a six-year-old boy was hit by a car while getting off a school bus in Polk County, Florida.