LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Drivers in Lee County will now face a $225 fine if they are caught illegally passing a stopped school bus—a safety measure that officially took effect Monday after weeks of warnings.
Senior reporter Emily Young has all the info Lee County drivers need to know:
Over the past several months, the district has installed 11 cameras on about 500 Lee County school buses. These cameras are designed to capture drivers who fail to stop when a bus extends its stop arm.
Here’s how the enforcement system works:
When a vehicle passes a stopped school bus with its stop sign extended, the cameras record the violation.
The footage is sent to BusPatrol, the technology company managing the system who then send it to the Lee County Sheriff's Office. LCSO reviews each potential violation, and if deputies verify that the driver illegally passed the bus, a $225 ticket is issued.
The county launched a warning period on November 5, giving drivers time to adjust before fines were issued. During that short window, the district reported more than 2600 actual violations, all of which resulted only in warnings.
Sheriff Carmine Marceno said the system continues to catch around 200 violations every day, highlighting what he calls a serious and ongoing safety problem.
Sheriff Marceno emphasized that the ultimate goal isn’t to issue tickets, but to change driving behavior and keep students safe.
“Our main focus and goal is going to be to gain compliance through education,” Marceno said. “A lot of times people don’t know the rules. They don’t know that they have to stop on a four-lane highway if there’s no median, so we want to educate everyone.”
According to the sheriff, the highest number of violations are occurring along:
- Pondella Road
- Fowler Street
- Colonial Boulevard
- And in general, any area without a median, where drivers may be unclear about when to stop.
With enforcement fully underway, drivers should remember: if a school bus has its stop arm extended, all drivers must stop, unless traveling on the opposite side of a divided highway with a physical median.
Failing to stop will now cost $225, and the Sheriff’s Office has made it clear: the cameras are capturing thousands of violations, and the goal is to bring those numbers down.
As Sheriff Marceno noted, the hope is that the new fines—combined with increased education—will reduce violations and help protect Lee County students.
