School bus-passing scofflaws paying the price: 25,000 $225 citations issued in less than six months

May 22, 2026 By MEGHAN BRADBURY 6 min read

The message was loud and clear to the motorists of Lee County during a School District of Lee County press conference Thursday: “No More.”

A bus stop safety conference included School Superintendent Dr. Denise Carlin, Sheriff Carmine Marceno and Bus Patrol President Justin Meyers to express the importance of following the laws of the road and stopping when a bus’ stop sign is out and the lights are flashing.

“The safety and well-being of every student is our top priority of the school district,” Carlin said. “For our students who ride the bus that commitment begins while they wait to get picked up or dropped off each afternoon. While our transportation staff, bus drivers and school teams work tirelessly to protect our students, dangerous driving behaviors around school buses continue to put children at risk. And I want to show you the threat that they face.”

A video was shown of an eighth grade student who was struck by a vehicle — a right-side pass — on March 31 on Coconut Road in Estero. The student was waiting for her bus off the road when a car skidding to avoid hitting the bus, hit her instead, officials said.

“As a community we should never ever tolerate this kind of behavior, and I am not going to be the superintendent that simply waits for and accepts these kinds of accidents,” Carlin said. “That is why we partnered with Bus Patrol and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office last year to address dangerous driving. We installed cameras on our bus fleet to capture video of drivers who fail to stop when a bus is stopping to pick up or drop off our children. Lucky for Abigal, she is back at school and is doing well.”

Marceno said such accidents are preventable.

“When those lights are red, and the bus stops, stop your vehicle. It’s that simple, stop,” he said. “Under Florida Statue 316.172, drivers traveling in both directions on a roadway must stop for a bus that displays its signals unless it is a divided highway with a physical barrier. We need to get that message out. People need to understand. That could have been a fatal encounter, and there is no excuse.”

The grandparents of the young student, Brian and Lori Masters, encouraged drivers to slow down, pay attention, and use common sense. Lori said her granddaughter went to school the very next day after she was struck.

“It was a blessing that day, actually a miracle that she is still here with us,” she said. “We beg you to slow down.”

Numerous other videos were shown of drivers passing buses illegally.

“Through the combined efforts of the School District of Lee County, the Lee County Sheriff’s office and Bus Patrol, we are able to strengthen enforcement effort increase driver accountability in our community and to help create safer roadways for our children who deserve it,” Carlin said. “Together we are sending a very clear message that the safety of children will always be my top priority as superintendent of schools.”

Citations of $225 are given to drivers when the cameras capture them illegally passing a bus after the violation is confirmed by the Sheriff’s Office. 

“Some of those drivers have gone to great lengths to avoid the cameras and the ticket. That driver went into oncoming traffic to avoid our bus, the students, and the camera,” Carlin said of a video presented.

Marceno said the mission is to change driver behavior, educate the public and so change lives. He said they have already identified trends and dangerous patterns throughout Lee County with more than 25,000 citations in five and a half months.

Twenty-one days into May, there have already been 2,364 citations. The major areas of concerns are the 100 and 1000 blocks of Pondella Road in North Fort Myers, 100 block of Homestead Road in Lehigh Acres and the 11500-12000 block of Bonita Beach Road. 

“Every violation represents a child that could have been severely injured or killed,” he said. “Every single parent, guardian or loved one whose child leaves the front door of their household and walks to the bus stop, almost 6,000 of them get on the bus, and until they return it is all of our responsibility to make sure they come home safe. Bus Patrol has changed the game for the Lee County Sheriff Office.”

Marceno said that enforcement is showing that 90% won’t do it again, and the other 10% need to get with the program and quickly.

“We have to protect those that cannot protect themselves. Ensuring the busier grids are slowing down and paying attention. One life is too many and we cannot allow, cannot sit back and allow people to keep doing what they are doing in these violations,” he said.

Justin Meyers, president of Bus Patrol, said the mission is simple and pure – eliminate illegal passes of school buses within the country. He said it was born out of a really tragic event in Indiana where a car struck four children and killing three siblings.

Nationwide, a driver illegally passing a school bus happens 39 million times.

“What is abnormal is community leaders raising their hands to say we are not allowing this to happen in our county anymore. Those are courageous officials that stood up,” he said, adding that only one in 10 school buses have a child safety program installed, which is free to school districts. “We make the violators that endanger pay for the technology to protect them.”

Carlin said school buses are designed to be the safest form of transportation, but the safety depends on every single driver in the community following the law and remaining alert around stopped school buses.

“You can’t miss a big yellow school bus. A few moments of patience can save a child’s life,” Carlin said. “Together as a community we can create safer roads, protect our students and reinforce a culture where student safety always comes first.”

The law is simple, she said, when a bus is stopped and a stop signal is deployed – which applies to two lane and multiple lane roads in either direction – stop.

“The only time you don’t have to stop is where there is a raised median, or a physical divider of 5 feet separating the traffic from the bus,” she said.

Marceno said since they cannot be everywhere, Bus Patrol helps in covering the 1,260-square-mile county that is full of roadways and busier grids.

“Because of the program, you are saving lives and changing the game here every single day,” he said.

To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com