JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 More than 3,000 Duval County drivers were fined last month for illegally passing a school bus \u2014 and one driver is pushing back.<\/p>\n
The Duval County School District Police Department issued 3,197 citations in May at $225 each, totaling roughly $719,000 in fines issued in a single month. May was the first month drivers received fines under the new program.<\/p>\n
Cameras mounted on Duval County school buses use artificial intelligence to flag drivers who pass a bus with its stop arm extended and red lights flashing. <\/p>\n
Each video clip is reviewed by an officer before a ticket is mailed. The district says more than 800 citations were denied last month after that review process.<\/p>\n
Where violations happened most<\/p>\n
The violations span roads across Duval County. The top four areas for citations were:<\/p>\n
Blanding Boulevard: 89<\/p>\n
Merrill Road: 35<\/p>\n
West Beaver Street: 33 <\/p>\n
U.S. 90: 32<\/p>\n
The majority of violations were issued to drivers traveling in the opposite direction of the stopped bus. <\/p>\n
Under Florida law, drivers must stop for a school bus with its stop arm extended, regardless of direction \u2014 with limited exceptions.<\/p>\n
The only exception is if there is a raised median between the driver and the bus, or if the median is more than 5 feet wide.<\/p>\n
Chief says data is promising<\/p>\n
Chief Jackson Short with the Duval County School Board Police Department says the cameras and citations are designed to make students safer \u2014 and early data from the company behind the technology suggests the approach works.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we can say this particular company is all across the country \u2014 BusPatrol \u2014 and what they have found with their data across the country is that 90 to 95% of drivers do not get a second ticket,\u201d Short said. \u201cSo that\u2019s why we think the program is successful, because drivers do not repeat the violation, they do not reoffend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Short acknowledged that it is too early to draw conclusions about Jacksonville specifically.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere in Jacksonville, it\u2019s too early to say how effective the program is going to be,\u201d he said. \u201cFor the month of May, I can tell you we saw about 4,000 drivers that violated the stop arm \u2014 and that was only with 95% of our buses equipped.\u201d<\/p>\n
Short says the full picture will emerge when students return in the fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the true numbers will come when we come back to school in the fall \u2014 August, September, October \u2014 when all of our buses are equipped, all the buses are on the road and all the students are in session,\u201d he said. \u201cThis fall will be our opportunity to really look at the numbers and see what we can do to improve student safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
One driver is fighting his citation<\/p>\n
Not everyone who received a citation is accepting it. <\/p>\n
Jerry Wilkes, 79, is contesting his $225 fine. He insists the only bus he passed was parked on private property \u2014 not on a public road.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is another gimmick,\u201d Wilkes said. \u201cI was doing nothing illegal. Nothing. If that bus had been in the roadway, like the statute says it ought to have been, I would have stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilkes says he is requesting all photos and video taken of the incident and has not yet heard back from the district.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey haven\u2019t even responded to me yet, so I don\u2019t know what they\u2019re going to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Short says Wilkes has every right to contest the citation. Instructions for doing so are listed on the citation itself. Drivers who still disagree after that process can contact Duval County School Board Police directly.<\/p>\n
What drivers should know before August<\/p>\n
Since school is currently out for summer, no citations are being issued. <\/p>\n
But Short and district officials are urging drivers to review the rules now \u2014 because the cameras will be back on the road when school resumes in August, and all buses will be fully equipped.<\/p>\n
Under Florida law, drivers must stop when a school bus has its stop arm extended and red lights flashing. When in doubt, stop.<\/p>\n
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