Janelle Irwin Taylor
An omnibus bill that has cleared the Senate (SB 462) would begin to make changes to what has become a controversial program allowing drivers to receive citations in the mail for failing to stop for school buses.
Those violations are detected through the use of cameras mounted on buses. In explaining an amendment to the bill, Sen. Nick DiCeglie, the bill’s sponsor, directly thanked Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who offered his expert opinion on the program, which drove the amendment.
At issue is a law passed last year that allows school districts to use automated cameras to detect drivers violating a law requiring motorists to stop for school buses when its stop arm is extended, which occurs when buses are loading and unloading students at bus stops.
An amended House version of the measure includes language that would address the lack of an effective appeals process, but would provide citation authority to school resource officers while tapping school districts with leading the appeals process by dedicating staff as hearing officers, such as the school district attorney.
Gualtieri opposes the law in general, but wanted to ensure legislation reforming the original statute didn’t do more harm than good.
“Traffic enforcement should be done for the right reasons and in the right way and I think the crux of that is good interaction between a citizen violator and a law enforcement officer,” he said.
DiCeglie’s amendment, which passed, would allow drivers cited under the program to have 60 days, instead of 30, to pay a violation. But more importantly, it establishes a process by which drivers can appeal the citation and removes the burden from courts currently inundated with challenges, while not saddling school districts with an onerous appeals process or expanding school resource officers’ job duties into traffic enforcement.
The amendment offers what DiCeglie on multiple references referred to as a “key word,” instead placing the review process with counties. By using that word, school district could still opt to participate in the appeals process, but there would be flexibility for county officials to assume those duties, which they already have established under existing school speed zone policies.
Both DiCeglie and Gualtieri hope the overall school bus safety process will continue to improve. Speaking Wednesday when the bill cleared the Senate, DiCeglie said he’s “concerned about this program overall,” but commended changes that address some of the issues the law has created.
Miami-Dade County suspended its program after a backlog in the courts was causing delays. The county cited in its announcement earlier this month errors in the amounts listed on traffic tickets issued through the program.
In other areas, drivers have said they received a citation in error but had no way to appeal, forcing them to either pay or face a higher fine and, eventually, suspension of their driver’s license.
A Miami Herald investigation uncovered multiple drivers who were improperly cited, including many who were on the opposite side of the road with a median when they didn’t stop for a bus. Drivers traveling in the opposite direction do not have to stop for a bus when there is a median.
A man in Volusia County received a citation for illegally passing a stopped school bus in Miami Beach, even though he was nowhere near the area. Turns out it was a scooter that didn’t stop, according to News 6 in Orlando. A blurry photo caused the wrong person to receive the citation after the tag was misread.
Gualtieri said, ultimately, the entire problem should be reevaluated, because drivers shouldn’t be confronted with citations “so that some company can make a gazillion dollars,” referring to vendors who operate the camera programs.
He also called it “red light camera 2.0.” Pinellas County does not participate in either red light camera citations or the new school bus camera enforcement.
