Duval County Public School buses have recorded more than 5,200 stop-arm violations since May, with drivers receiving $225 citations.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — With students heading back to class, school buses are once again part of the morning and afternoon commute across Northeast Florida.
As buses return to busy roads, drivers in Florida and Georgia may need a reminder about when the law requires them to stop.
On a two-lane road, traffic in both directions must come to a complete stop when a school bus stops and extends its stop arm.
The same rule applies on multi-lane roads that have a paved median or a center turn lane: drivers traveling both ways are required to stop.
On a divided highway with an unpaved median or a raised barrier — at least five feet wide in Florida — drivers approaching from the opposite direction may continue, but only with caution. Children may still be crossing nearby to reach the bus.
“It’s about the safety of the kids, so please when you see the stop arms out, stop,” said Durham School Services Safety Instructor Zena Walker.
Duval County Public Schools added stop-arm cameras in March to buses operated by Durham School Services and Student Transportation of America. The camera system, managed by BusPatrol America, began issuing citations on May 1 to drivers caught illegally passing stopped school buses. Since then, more than 5,200 tickets have been mailed to motorists accused of violating the law.
First Coast News has been sharing some of the footage captured by those cameras with parents in Jacksonville. Some drivers are shown almost hitting students getting on and off the bus – just a few examples of what Walker said she’s experienced while driving a bus full of kids.
“It’s nerve-wracking,” she said. “It’s scary. It’s a baby’s life. These parents trust us with those kids getting on the bus and they want them back the way we got them.”
If you’re caught illegally passing a school bus in Duval County, you’ll get a $225 ticket in the mail. The video footage is reviewed by law enforcement before the infraction is approved and the ticket is mailed out.
Nearly 50,000 students will board a school buses for the upcoming school year in Duval County. Some bus drivers in training with Durham School Services are sending a message to parents and drivers.
“Just give the drivers some patience,” said Precious Byrd, a bus driver in training. “They’re learning new routes, they’re trying to get around safely with your kids. I know it may take a little longer at first.”
Byrd is one of the returning bus drivers at Durham School Services in training alongside Kunesha Ousley, who said she’s excited for the new year.
“Seeing how patient you have to be and very aware as a bus driver… I’m ready for the challenge and I don’t take this job lightly,” said Ousley.
DSS is one of the bus services supporting DCPS. It’s introducing 26 new electric school buses that will be covering Mandarin, Southside, Arlington and the beaches areas. The buses and charging stations were paid for through a $7.7 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program.
Durham School Services Sr. VP of Operations Paul Talarico said the quieter, more efficient electric buses may have a higher front-end cost, but will have a lower back-end cost.
“They are cheaper to maintain, there’s less moving parts, and the big piece is the cost of electric tends to remain fairly steady and easy to budget and project whereas right now everyone understands the volatility of fuel, so we’re glad to get away from that,” said Talarico.
