Broward County buses get AI cameras to catch illegal passers

Every Broward County school bus will be outfitted with AI stop-arm cameras before students return Aug. 1, giving drivers who blow past flashing lights and extended stop arms a new enforcement risk. The Broward County School Board unanimously approved the program, and citations are expected to start Sept. 9 at $225 for motorists who illegally pass a stopped bus.

The cameras are designed to record violations when a bus is stopped for loading or unloading children, then flag the incident for review and citation. Local 10 said the system is set to launch this school year, and the district is using BusPatrol technology, a vendor that describes itself as America’s #1 School Bus Safety Program. The rollout means every bus in the county fleet will be part of the enforcement net, not just a handful of high-traffic routes.

The scale of the problem is already clear. More than 1,200 illegal passings have been reported in Broward County, a number that points to repeated risk rather than one-off mistakes. For Broward County Public Schools, the point of the cameras is to change driver behavior by making violations visible even when a deputy or police officer is not nearby. The county is treating the system as child-injury prevention, aimed at protecting students crossing the street, stepping down from the bus or retrieving backpacks after the stop arm goes out.

NBC Miami said the board approved the bus camera program in June and that it was expected to generate millions, a figure that underscores how much enforcement could expand once citations begin. South Florida Sun Sentinel also reported that new cameras on Broward buses will hit passing drivers with $225 tickets. The county’s message is blunt: when a bus stops, traffic stops too.

Broward is not moving alone. Miami-Dade County already has a Bus Infraction Detection Program that uses cameras aboard school buses to catch illegal passers, and Broward’s rollout puts it in step with that broader South Florida shift toward automated stop-arm enforcement. By the time the first school bell rings Aug. 1, the buses themselves will be carrying the evidence.