CAPE CORAL, Fla. — The Lee County School District is taking action against drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses by installing cameras that will issue tickets to violators.
FOX 4's Bella Line shows us why the Lee County School District is adding ticketing cameras to school buses:
On just one day in 2024, Lee County bus drivers reported 912 illegal passes when their stop arms were extended.
"It is unacceptable, really," Rob Spicker, communications representative for Lee County Schools, said.
The school board has approved a plan to install cameras on the stop sign arms of all 900 buses in the district. The cameras will capture images of license plates of vehicles that pass buses illegally, resulting in a $225 ticket being mailed to the vehicle owner.
"When a student gets off the bus and is walking in front, then a car that is passing that puts those students at risk, and we want to change that behavior through this program," Spicker said.
According to Bus Patrol, the company that owns the cameras, 90% of drivers who receive one of these tickets don't do it again.
The district has not determined exactly how much of the $225 fine they will receive, but the funds will support driver recruitment, retention, and safety initiatives.
In cities like Cape Coral that already have school zone speed detection cameras, this represents an expansion of student safety measures.
"It's a two-fold effort now. The school zones in front of the school are protected for the students that are walking or riding their bikes, and now the students that are on the bus are protected when they are getting on and off," Spicker said.
The district plans to implement a 30-day warning period before officially beginning to issue tickets sometime this fall.
"We just need to make sure that kids can be safe as they go to school. It should just be an expectation," Spicker said.
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