Polk County pauses school bus camera program; changes underway

POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Polk County’s school bus camera program is on hold as district leaders work to make changes.

The Safe Stop initiative officially launched in August of last year. Since then, officials say nearly 13,000 violations have been issued. But some drivers, like resident Cleo Davis, claim many of those tickets were unfair.

Davis says he was driving home from work in November when he saw a school bus stop at the railroad tracks on the opposite side of the road near Recker Parkway. Not thinking much of it, he said he kept driving, since buses are required to stop before crossing.

“Common sense just said to me… you know, me thinking that it’s no way that they’re letting children off at that location, so that’s why I proceeded to go forward,” Davis said.

To his surprise, he received a $225 notice of violation in the mail weeks later. The violation was for failing to stop for a school bus with its stop signal deployed, and it included photos of the incident. But Davis felt he did nothing wrong, saying there were no children being picked up or dropped off.

He said he tried to appeal the citation, but there were no instructions on how to do so, despite state law requiring them to be included.

“I got the statuette and everything, and it clearly says that the violation is supposed to have that, but it doesn’t exist. Now where it does exist is once you get the uniform citation,” he said.

Up until recently, drivers in Polk County who were fined for passing a stopped school bus couldn’t appeal the violation until 30 days later — when it automatically became a $329 uniform citation.

Thanks to a new law that went into effect July 1, drivers now have the right to immediately contest a violation.

In a statement, Polk County Public Schools said:

“Polk County Public Schools and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office will continue to follow state law regarding the use of our Safe Stop program. At this time, we are working with local authorities to develop and implement an appeal process for motorists who receive a violation from our school bus cameras. Beginning July 1, no violations will be issued until the local appeal process is in place.” 

However, Davis says an appeal process should have been in place from the start. Now, he’s calling on the county to issue reimbursements.

“I want my money back. I want my money back,” he said. “I, at least, would like to be reimbursed for the cost. Although I know they can’t reimburse me for the time it took going down there, but the least they can do is reimburse the money for the citation.”

The school district didn’t mention the possibility of reimbursement. However, it reiterated:

“The PCPS Safe Stop program has always complied with state law, and student safety remains our top priority.”