A new program will have drivers who illegally pass Miami-Dade Public School buses facing a heavy fine and will have more than 1,000 buses outfitted with cameras to catch violators in the act.
Miami-Dade County Police and Miami-Dade County Public Schools are partnering on the new project, which they said will enhance students' safety and combat reckless driving around school buses.
Starting Wednesday, drivers who illegally pass a stopped school bus in Miami-Dade will receive a minimum $200 ticket in the mail.
The county is also partnering with a private company, Bus Patrol, to outfit the county's entire fleet of school buses with cameras and AI technology.
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Bus Patrol officials said the technology is 30 percent more accurate than humans when it comes to detecting violations.
Each bus could have up to eight cameras on the outside, which can see up to eight lanes of traffic. AI technology will trigger the camera when the bus starts to come to a stop, and read the license plates of drivers, along with recording video of the violator.
The video gets turned over to Miami-Dade Police, who issue the fine. If that isn’t paid within 30 days, your license could be suspended, leading to a bench warrant.
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The penalty may seem stiff, but over the last month, during a pilot run of the system, a whopping 10,000 warnings were issued to drivers who passed school buses.
It’s an ongoing issue the county is hoping to curb.
"It’s very serious, they see the stop arms and they just run it. When you see the stop arms, we have a student getting on the bus or getting off," Miami-Dade school bus driver Kashmere Cetino said.
Buses will also receive interior cameras, aiming to safeguard students and bus drivers from incidents that may happen inside the bus.
Bus Patrol’s chief growth officer said they signed a 5-year deal with the county. Each unit costs about $10,000. Multiply that by more than 1,000 buses, you’re looking at a cost of more than $10 million.
But 100 percent of the funds from fines issued go back to the county to pay for the units.
