(WSVN) - Back-to-school means there is a new layer of safety for students across Broward County.
The school district said it’s launching a school bus stop-arm camera program. The program will equip 1,300 school buses with cameras designed to help catch drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses.
“The buses are safe all by themselves. We have all the equipment on these buses that we possibly can for safety and security and now we’re adding one more layer… everything we can do to protect the lives of our students is what we’re going to do in Broward County schools,” said Dr.Allen Zeman, a Broward County school board member.
The program rolls out as students are about to head back to class, with district leaders saying drivers will first get a chance to learn about the new enforcement before citations begin.
“Warning citations will begin being mailed on August 10 for the first 30 days. Folks who break the law will only be mailed that warning citation. The program will officially begin with civil penalties on September 9,” said Bus Patrol Steve Randazzo.
7News received a closer look at the new technology.
Bus Patrol showed off cameras positioned around the entire bus, including cameras that capture license plates, wide views of traffic, and additional angles designed to give law enforcement more context before a decision is made.
“A lot of people in the public think that the cameras write you a ticket. It’s technically not accurate. 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,” said Randazzo.
District leaders said the goal isn’t to write more tickets; it’s to change driver behavior to help keep students safe as they get on and off the school bus.
“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 one instance for that individual to learn from, so they won’t repeat that same behavior again,” said Superintendent of Broward County Schools, Dr. Howard Hepburn.
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