Florida's School Bus Camera Law Under Fire: Drivers Cry Foul Over Costly, Confusing Violations
Tampa Bay 28 investigative reporter Katie LaGrone is back in the spotlight, this time exposing significant issues tied to Florida's school bus camera law. What started as a personal experience—receiving two surprise violations—quickly escalated into a months-long investigation uncovering widespread confusion, costly fines, and limited options for drivers to challenge the tickets.
"These are $225 tickets," LaGrone explained on The Ryan Gorman Show. "While the intent is clearly to protect children, drivers felt they were being unfairly penalized with no clear path to fight back."
The law uses cameras mounted on school buses to catch drivers who illegally pass when stop arms are deployed. But many recipients argued they had already passed the bus before the stop sign fully extended, raising questions about the fairness and timing of the violations. To make matters worse, several counties lacked any formal appeals process.
In Polk County, drivers faced an even steeper price: if they didn’t pay within 30 days, the ticket jumped from $225 to $329, and only then could it be contested in court. That policy, combined with mounting complaints, led counties like Miami-Dade and Polk to suspend their camera programs altogether. Meanwhile, Hillsborough County remains the only one in the state currently offering an appeals process—a safeguard that took nearly a year to implement.
Interestingly, the legislative response was swift. Lawmakers revised the school bus camera law during the last session, allowing school districts more control over appeals, bypassing the courts. It's a sharp contrast to the newer investigation LaGrone is pursuing into school zone speeding cameras, which are now raising similar concerns about fairness and clarity.
So what's next for Florida's flurry of school-related traffic tech? LaGrone hints that more legal tweaks could be coming, especially as questions swirl around signage inconsistencies and due process in the school speed zone enforcement.
Want the full story? Katie LaGrone's investigation dives even deeper, including why some counties hit the brakes on the camera programs entirely. Listen to the full interview on The Ryan Gorman Show for more on this story.