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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Officials touted the new security measure as an additional layer of safety for students who rely on the bus.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuses are safe all by themselves. We have all the equipment on these buses as we possibly can for safety and security, and now we\u2019re adding one more layer. And to Ms. Leonardi\u2019s other point, everything we can do to protect the lives of our students is what we\u2019re gonna do in Broward County schools,\u201d said BCPS board member Dr. Allen Zeman.<\/p>\n
With the program set to be running right as a new school year starts, district leaders said drivers who don\u2019t abide by the law will receive a warning for the first 30 days. After that, drivers who don\u2019t stop for buses will be issued fines.<\/p>\n
\u201cWarning 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,\u201d said Steve Randazzo with BusPatrol.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The additional angles are intended to provide law enforcement officers with more context before a decision on any penalties is made.<\/p>\n