South Miami is the latest city in South Florida that’s using new cameras to catch school zone speeders and school bus stop violators.
New cameras are catching speeders and drivers who illegally pass a school bus in Miami-Dade County, and South Miami is the latest city to install the technology.
Starting Thursday, cameras in that municipality will automatically ticket drivers going 10 mph or more over the school zone speed limit, which is 15 mph.
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The cameras are mounted to poles and on the side of buses.
“These cameras will take effect 30 minutes prior to school starting, during the school hours and 30 minutes after the school has finished,” South Miami Police Sgt. Fernando Bosch said.
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The cameras will automatically capture license plates and mail $100 citations to the vehicle’s owner.
Driver Esther Lopez said that isn’t enough.
“I think it should be more,” she said. “You’re dealing with the life of a kid.”
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The cameras were initially approved by Miami-Dade County earlier this year.
And like South Miami, other municipalities across South Florida are hopping on board, signing contracts with the operator, Georgia-based Redspeed.
“Our goal really is to reduce speed and make it a lot safer for the children and families that attend these schools,” David de la Espriella, the company’s vice president of client relations, said.
Also new this school year: cameras using AI technology known as "AVA" on all 1,000 county school buses, capturing drivers who don’t stop for buses when the stop arm is out.
“At the end of the day, technology is getting so advanced, there’s a lot of cameras and sometimes you don’t need a cop there to get a ticket,” driver David Diaz said.
Those automated citations will cost drivers $200 dollars each.
“The message is very clear to drivers that anywhere you drive in Miami-Dade County, and a school bus is stopped, you need to follow the law, or else you can be held accountable for that,” Steve Randazzo, of BusPatrol, the company operating that technology, said.
So make sure you know the law: If you are on a two-way street and the bus stop arm is out, you must stop. This applies to traffic traveling in both directions.
The only time you can pass is when there is a raised barrier between you and the bus.
During a month-long test period earlier this year, the system issued more than 10,000 warning letters to violators.
“If you don’t want to pay the $200, do the right thing and avoid the tickets,” Diaz said.
If someone else was driving your car at the time of the violation, you will have to file an appeal with the Clerk of Courts.
In South Miami, the speed cameras will activate on Thursday and issue warnings for one month. After that, citations will be sent.
