Miami-Dade to relaunch school bus camera ticketing program that was suspended last year

Authorities are announcing the relaunch of a school bus ticketing program that was called off last year after what the Miami-Dade sheriff called “unacceptable errors” in enforcement.

A news conference is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Friday to discuss the relaunch of the Miami-Dade County Bus Infraction Detection Program.

The program is designed to catch drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses with cameras aboard the vehicles.

“Each year, an estimated 40 million drivers in the U.S. illegally pass stopped school buses, endangering children as they board buses or step out onto the street. In Florida, statewide data has identified, on average, more than 8,000 violations daily,” officials said in a news release.

Sheriff Rosie Corder Stutz suspended the ticketing program a year ago, after complaints including that drivers had received citations worth hundreds of dollars even when they obeyed the law. The sheriff also noted incorrect citation numbers and wrong fine amounts on some tickets before stopping the program last April.

During the news conference, members of the media are invited to view the technology operated by BusPatrol, the same company behind the cameras last year.

The new program will take effect after a 14 day warning and education period, but it was not immediately clear if that would begin Friday.