ORLANDO, Fla. – As students head back to class, school districts across Central Florida are preparing for a new law aimed at keeping children safe.
For the first time, school bus cameras can be used to catch and fine drivers illegally passing them. This is part of a bill Governor Ron DeSantis signed earlier this summer.
According to Osceola County school leaders, the district saw a record number of stop-arm violations during a survey this year, a more than 70% increase compared to the year before.
“It just baffles me that that many people are ignoring a school bus,” said Zach Downes, community relations specialist for the district’s Transportation Services Department.
News 6 requested the results for other Central Florida school districts that participated in the same survey over the last two years. Orange County Public Schools and Volusia County Schools both saw a rise in drivers passing school buses illegally. Those drivers could not be cited until now.
Under a new state law, drivers could face a $225 fine for stop-arm violations. School districts can use law enforcement or contract a third-party vendor to monitor their bus cameras and issue tickets. There must also be signs on buses letting drivers know they are recording, along with a 30-day public awareness period.
Within the last school year, Volusia County Schools upgraded all of its buses to include 360-degree cameras. There are 10 cameras on each bus: six inside and four outside.
“We do have the capability of seeing cars that run our stop arms. We do not have a camera per se on our stop arm, but we still have the capability or providing law enforcement vehicle tag numbers and things like that,” said Rodney Smith, director of Student Transportation Services for Volusia County Schools.
According to Smith, the school district monitors the cameras and leaders can view what is happening live or download the footage.
“Our external cameras have already paid dividends when our buses have been hit on the road. The area managers who report to those accidents bring a dongle along with a laptop, so they are able to show the law enforcement officer at the scene right then what happened,” Smith said.
School leaders in Brevard, Flagler, Osceola and Seminole counties told News 6 they plan to enforce the new law by fining drivers who illegally pass buses. They are trying to figure out who will monitor the cameras and issue the tickets.
School leaders in both Lake and Sumter counties tell News 6 they are looking into the new legislation.
School buses in Orange County already have cameras, but the school district said it is not participating in the program to fine those drivers.
According to a spokesperson for Marion County Public Schools, cameras are mounted on the inside of most of the district’s school buses and they occasionally record drivers illegally passing. The district said it does not plan to refocus or reposition cameras beyond students.
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