Miami‑Dade County has restarted enforcement of its School Bus Infraction Detection Program: nearly 900 school buses are now fitted with camera systems that use artificial intelligence to flag motorists who fail to stop for school buses.
Timeline And Enforcement
A 14‑day warning period began May 4 to give drivers time to adjust, and citations became enforceable on May 18. Violations carry a $225 civil penalty. Recorded footage flagged by the cameras will be sent to the Miami‑Dade Sheriff’s Office for human review. If deputies determine a violation occurred, a citation will be mailed to the vehicle’s registered owner.
Program Partners And Background
The initiative — called the School Bus Infraction Detection Program — is a partnership among Miami‑Dade County Public Schools (M‑DCPS), the Miami‑Dade Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings and BusPatrol, a private vendor. The program’s stated goal is to reduce reckless driving around school buses and create safer roads for students.
"Those concerns helped lead to important clarification at the state level, changing the law statewide, strengthening the framework under which BusPatrol now operates and ensuring greater consistency and transparency," Miami‑Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero‑Stutz said at an April press conference.
Why The Program Was Paused
The program was briefly discontinued in April after an initial rollout in May 2024. Officials paused it after reports of errors and disputed tickets — including instances where drivers were fined for traveling on the opposite side of a raised median from a stopped bus, which is legal when the median is at least five feet wide. Drivers who received violations before the April 17, 2025 pause were still required to comply with the law unless they were formally notified that their citations had been voided.
How The System Works And When To Stop
Cameras described as "powered by artificial intelligence" identify potential violations and forward recorded video to the Sheriff’s Office for human review before any citation is issued. The program information reiterates the rules drivers must follow:
- Motorists must stop for stationary school buses when red lights are flashing, and remain stopped until the bus moves again or the red lights stop flashing.
- On two‑lane roads, traffic in both directions must stop.
- On four‑lane roads or multi‑lane roads without a physical barrier (including roads with a center turn lane), traffic in both directions must stop.
- On divided highways or roads with a physical barrier, drivers traveling in the opposite direction are not required to stop if the lanes are separated by a raised barrier or an unpaved median at least five feet wide; however, motorists should slow down and watch for children. Drivers traveling in the same direction as the bus must always stop.
The program’s restart follows statutory clarifications at the state level intended to reduce ambiguity, improve consistency and rebuild trust after the earlier rollout.
Reporter: Sarah Perkel, South Florida Connect Reporter, USA TODAY Network. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY.
