Drivers in Florida need to slow down around school buses.
With school just getting started in some areas, officials are closely monitoring how motorists are driving around school buses. The numbers are terrifying for parents.
In the first four days of the 2024 school year, from Aug. 12-15, officials from Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office say that they issued 2,391 warnings to drivers for going around school buses while the stop arm was down.
As shocking as those numbers seem, it’s not out of the norm for Florida. In 2023, a survey of school bus drivers revealed that they observed more than 11,200 illegal passings in a single day across the state. Which — if that rate held — would mean there are more than 2 million illegal passings every school year in Florida alone.
The school buses are starting to fight back, as some are now equipped with technology called BusPatrol that takes video of drivers who go around the stopped bus and registers their license plates and photos of the offenders.
Currently, Hillsborough County is just issuing warnings for drivers who run through these stop signs, but they will start issuing $225 tickets starting in September.
The fine for this kind of violation varies by state. For example, a school bus ticket in Missouri could be as light as $83, but Tennessee doesn’t play around when it comes to students: Their fines could go as high as $1,000 for violating the stop sign.
Wood is host of Taste of Country Mornings With Wood and Nicole, which can be heard every morning from 6-10AM CT on the Taste of Country app, on local affiliates where available and online at tasteofcountry.com.
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Gallery Credit: Wood
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Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak