TAMPA, Fla. — In the 30 days since the start of the school year, 10,000 warnings have been issued to drivers who passed stopped school buses in Hillsborough County.
Starting Thursday, there will be no more warnings and law enforcement will begin to issue fines.
Those fines, however, won't just be distributed during traffic stops. New AI technology is helping to ensure all violators pay the price.
Virginia-based 'Bus Patrol,' which has offices in Tampa and Miami, has teamed up with the Hillsborough County School district by installing a series of cameras in its fleet of roughly 1,200 buses.
"Ava is up here. That's our artificial intelligence engine," explained Bus Patrol Vice President Donny Wolfe. "She knows when the school bus is slowing down, she knows when the amber lights are going on and she also knows when the stop arm is coming out. So with that knowledge, she is able to determine which drivers are violating the state law and passing the school bus."
Video collected by the bus cameras are sent to Bus Patrol for human review. Confirmed violations are passed along to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, for additional review. Once the agency confirms it, Bus Patrol issues a $225 fine to the driver by mail.
Hillsborough County bus driver Ashley Ely said, "I'm hoping this fixes it because I'm sorry but that's a hefty ticket."
Ely said in her 16 years as a school bus driver, she has seen drivers illegally pass her stopped bus daily.
"I'm very frustrated with it. I think the drivers should be held accountable," she said. "Stop means stop, because at the end of the day, our first priority, our only priority is the safety of these kids."
The cost of adding the technology to Hillsborough's fleet of roughly 1,200 buses was approximately $12 million. It was paid for by Bus Patrol, which is paid back through the fines.
"With Bus Patrol, our mission is to provide the journey to and from school for every student, to make that a safer one," Wolfe said.
The Hillsborough County School District released the following image to remind drivers when to stop for a school bus:
