NORTHEAST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) will officially begin enforcing a new safety initiative Wednesday, designed to protect students by catching drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses. The program, announced last month in partnership with BusPatrol and local law enforcement, equips all school buses in the district with advanced camera technology.
At 10 a.m. Tuesday, leaders of the community are set to address the importance of the initiative during a news conference held at Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School.
“This safety initiative seeks to curb dangerous motorist behavior around school buses and make the journey to and from school safer for all students,” said Luis Diaz, the Chief Operating Officer of M-DCPS, at Tuesday’s news conference.
The cameras, installed in the bus’s stop arms, are triggered automatically when the stop sign is deployed, and the bus is fully stopped. These devices detect movement on the left side of the bus and capture the license plate of any vehicle that passes illegally.
“This will unfortunately trigger some conversation and unfortunately for those that violate or feel like they do not need to abide by the law, will unfortunately pay a financial fine,” Diaz added, stressing the program’s role in enhancing student safety.
The initiative began with a 30-day warning period last month, during which drivers who passed stopped school buses were only sent warnings. With real enforcement going in effect on Wednesday, offenders will face a $200 penalty.
“Before you had to actually have a live officer post up on the spot where maybe crashes or incidents had been previously documented where a student may have been hit, or where complainants call,” said Miami-Dade Police Department officer Federico Lopez.
Not only are there cameras outside, but inside too, keeping kids safe off and on the bus.
“Many things happen on the bus,” noted Diaz. “You have the bus driver, you have about 40 students in the back and these cameras will allow footage to be utilized if some type of scenarios take place in the bus and are unwanted. It’s a good safety measure, not just for the students, but also for the staff that are on the bus.”
Drivers who do not pay the fined within 30 days will have the option to pay it online and even watch the video of their vehicle passing the school bus. If motorist refuse to pay, they could get their license suspended.
The partnership with BusPatrol aims to utilize their stop-arm enforcement cameras effectively to reduce the number of vehicles illegally passing school buses, increasing safety for students boarding and disembarking from buses throughout Miami-Dade County.
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