FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Broward County Public Schools is rolling out a new bus camera system designed to keep students safe and hold drivers accountable.
As students and teachers prepare to return to schools in Broward, the district has upgraded their fleet of approximately 1,300 school buses with enhanced security camera systems that are intended to catch drivers illegally passing them when they make stops on their routes.
Officials touted the new security measure as an additional layer of safety for students who rely on the bus.
“Buses are safe all by themselves. We have all the equipment on these buses as we possibly can for safety and security, and now we’re adding one more layer. And to Ms. Leonardi’s other point, everything we can do to protect the lives of our students is what we’re gonna do in Broward County schools,” said BCPS board member Dr. Allen Zeman.
With the program set to be running right as a new school year starts, district leaders said drivers who don’t abide by the law will receive a warning for the first 30 days. After that, drivers who don’t stop for buses will be issued fines.
“Warning citations will begin being mailed on Aug. 10, the first day back to school. But those warning citations do not come with a monetary fine. For the first 30 days, folks who break the law will only be mailed that warning citation warning them that the program is coming 30 days from then. So the program will officially begin with civil penalties on Sept. 9,” said Steve Randazzo with BusPatrol.
7News got a closer look at the new security system. BusPatrol, the company that installed the stop sign camera technology, showed off how multiple cameras had been placed at different spots that would provide more detailed information, including cameras that would capture license plates of passing vehicles and wide views of traffic.
The additional angles are intended to provide law enforcement officers with more context before a decision on any penalties is made.
Officials sought to ease concerns after a similar program that was implemented by Miami-Dade County Public Schools drew criticism for wrongly ticketing law-abiding drivers.
“A lot of people in the public think that the cameras write you a ticket. It’s technically not accurate,” said Randazzo.
Randazzo went on to say that authorities would have to personally sign off on all recorded violations before any citations would be doled out.
“All recorded video is reviewed by law enforcement and ultimately that decision to cite someone or not is made not by BusPatrol, not by the cameras, but by law enforcement,” he said.
District leaders also said the program’s goal isn’t purely intended to bolster traffic ticket numbers; they’re hopeful to change driver behavior to help keep their students as safe as possible on their way to and from school.
“We hope to make zero dollars to be honest. We hope that people will be accountable to themselves when they’re driving. We hope that’s only a one instance for that individual to learn from so that they won’t repeat that same behavior again,” said BCSP Superintendent Dr. Howard Hepburn.
Officials say the wide angle cameras can capture up to eight lanes of traffic, which would help law enforcement prevent more drivers from passing stopped school buses.
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