Miami-Dade drivers could now be ticketed by school bus AI cameras

• Miami-Dade Public Schools has partnered with the Sheriff’s Office to equip almost 900 school buses with cameras that will, with the help of AI, detect when cars don’t stop for them.
• A 14-day warning period began on May 4, intended to provide drivers with the chance to "learn and adjust" before penalties became a real possibility on May 18.
• Violations are subject to a $225 civil penalty.

The grace period is over. Cameras powered by artificial intelligence officially began helping issue citations this week in Miami-Dade County.

Miami-Dade Public Schools has partnered with the Sheriff’s Office to equip almost 900 school buses with cameras that will, with the help of AI, detect when cars don’t stop for them. A 14-day warning period began on May 4, intended to provide drivers with the chance to "learn and adjust" before citations became a real possibility on May 18. Violations are subject to a $225 civil penalty.

The “School Bus Infraction Detection Program” — an initiative launched by M-DCPS, the Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings and BusPatrol, a private company — is “designed to reduce reckless driving” and “create safer roads,” according to its information page. It was discontinued last year by Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz after an original launch in May of 2024. Cordero-Stutz said errors “undermine[d] both the fairness and trust in the system.”

Still, anyone who received a violation before April 17, 2025, when the program was canceled, was still required to “comply with the law” unless they received official notice that their citations had been voided.

According to an investigation by the Miami Herald and the Tributary, some of those originally ticketed by the program felt they’d done nothing wrong — for instance, some received $225 tickets for “driving on the opposite side of a raised median from a stopped school bus,” which is legal if the median is at least 5 feet wide.

"Those concerns helped lead to important clarification at the state level, changing the law statewide, strengthening the framework under which BusPatrol now operates and ensuring greater consistency and transparency," Cordero-Stutz said during an April press conference.

Under the relaunched program, cameras “powered by artificial intelligence” will detect when motorists fail to stop for the buses they’re attached to. Recorded footage will then be sent to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office for review. If law enforcement decides a violation has occurred, a citation will be issued to whoever the vehicle is registered to.

When should you stop for a school bus in Florida?

According to the information page for the program, drivers must stop for stationary school buses when their red lights are flashing, and remain stopped until the buses resume moving, or until the red lights stop flashing.

On two-lane roads, all traffic in both directions must stop.

On four-lane roads or multi-lane roads without barriers, including roads with a center turn lane, all traffic in both directions must stop.

On divided highways or roads with physical barriers, if the road is divided by a raised barrier or unpaved median that’s at least 5 feet wide, drivers moving in the opposite direction don’t have to stop for the bus. Still, they should slow down and keep an eye out for students. Drivers travelling in the same direction as the bus always have to stop.

Sarah Perkel is a South Florida Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network's Florida Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.