Starting Monday, the city of Dearborn will start enforcing a new state law that cracks down on motorists who drive past stopped school buses.
The law allows school buses to be equipped with cameras that record vehicles illegally passing them when the bus’s red lights are flashing.
Based on the video evidence, drivers who fail to stop for a stopped school bus with its red lights flashing and stop arm extended will be issued a $250 civil infraction for a first offense and a $500 civil infraction for subsequent offenses within one year.
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said the crackdown is needed.
“In neighboring communities, what they saw in pilot mode, was that on average, school buses and the cameras installed on the school buses would be issuing roughly three tickets per day per bus,” said Hammoud.
But Hammoud said this is not about collecting fines, it’s about improving road safety.
“What the data demonstrates from Bus Patrol, which is our partner, is that 9 out of 10 individuals who do receive a ticket, tend to never commit the violation again,” Hammoud said.
Under Michigan law, motorists are required to stop at least 20 feet from a school bus when its red lights are flashing. Drivers must remain stopped until the school bus resumes motion or the visual signals are no longer activated.
