School district adds traffic cameras to buses
The School District of Lee County launched a new safety initiative Thursday targeting drivers who fail to stop for school buses.
The new safety initiative, through a partnership with Bus Patrol, will capture video evidence of drivers illegally passing a stopped school bus. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office will then view the video and issue the appropriate citation.
Thursday started the 30-day warning period after which violators will receive a $225 fine.
The warning period will conclude on Dec. 8, when full implementation and enforcement begin.
“We officially begin a districtwide school bus stop arm safety program that will help protect our students as they travel to and from school,” Superintendent Dr. Denise Carlin said at a press conference. “This program is being implemented in partnership with the Sheriff’s Office and Bus Patrol, the leading school bus safety provider in the country.”
The safety of children is her No. 1 priority, the district’s highest responsibility, she said.
“I will no longer tolerate, or risk, students getting hurt as they board or exit our buses. That is a nonstarter for me,” she said.
Carlin provided some statistics during the conference.
“Every single day in the state of Florida, school buses are passed illegally over 8,500 times. That is more than 1.5 million dangerous incidents in one year,” she said. “In Lee County we recorded 663 illegal passes during the state’s annual survey in the spring. A year ago, the number was more than 900. Each of the two years before that was over 800.”
Those numbers can no longer happen, Carlin said.
Now every school bus — more than 650 of them — will be equipped with bus patrol safety technology ensuring every child, on every route, receives the same protection. There are 11 cameras per bus in the exterior and interior that will capture cars on the left and right sides of the bus.
“I am confident it creates a safer environment for students and allows our bus drivers to stay focused on driving instead of watching for reckless motorists,” Carlin said. “The ultimate goal is prevention. We want this program to change driver behavior and build a culture where motorists always stop for a school bus.”
Bus Patrol Vice President Donny Wolfe said the crisis is not only in Lee County, but is across the state and across the country.
“We have vehicles, drivers, that are ignoring the school bus laws that do not understand what the laws are. They are designed to protect our children,” he said.
Wolfe said although law enforcement is dedicated to keeping the community safe, they do not have the manpower, nor the ability to follow every single school bus to its bus stops. He said instead technology can be utilized to help make their job easier.
“The mission is to make the ride to and from school safer for every child,” Wolfe said. “Children regardless of ZIP code, credence, neighborhood, or school they attend, deserve the same safety technology.”
He said he cannot thank the state legislature enough, as without it passing the enabling legislature two years ago, they would not be able to partner with the School District of Lee County to begin Bus Patrol in the community.
Wolfe said six years ago there was a tragedy in Indiana where a family lost several of their children to one accident. This started the National Safety Associations to urge for safety.
“This is an opt-in program,” he said. “Thanks for the courage to take this initiative.”
Wolfe said what they have seen across the program is nine out of 10 drivers who receive a violation never receive it again.
“I can assure you, we decreased the probability of children getting hit,” he said. “You slow down and stop at the bus.”
Sheriff Carmine Marceno began his comments by saying how blessed “we are in Lee County to have Dr. Carlin who does such an amazing job and her staff and the best board we have ever had in this county.”
“Thanks for the support that we need to accomplish the mission – safe kids, safe schools,” he said.
Marceno said when a parent, guardian, or loved one, sends their child off to school and they walk out of that house and walk to one of the 5,733 bus stops in 1,260 square miles of Lee County, they expect and deserve to know their child is going to be safe.
“We cannot be everywhere. The grid is busier than ever,” Marceno said.
He said you correct behavior by educating and making people more aware.
“When they see that bus stop – stop,” Marceno said. “We cannot afford to have anyone hurt.”
He said they have a team in place, which does not cost the Sheriff’s Office anything, to review every single citation.
“The violation will come to us. We have a team that will look at the violation, determine who is in the vehicle to ensure the proper person is getting the ticket,” Marceno said.
The owner of the vehicle will give us an affidavit telling us who was in the vehicle, if it was not them, he said. If it’s a rental company, they, too, will fill out an affidavit so the Sheriff’s Office can find the person to make sure the proper person is cited.
Marceno said the violation will not affect the driver’s license.
“Our goal is to educate, make people aware and have compliance. Children safety is No. 1 and we have to do everything we can,” he said. “Lee County is filled with great residents. I know we are going to gain compliance through education.”
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com