Levy schools show stop-arm video, cite widespread illegal passing and new camera enforcement
Summary
District staff showed a bus stop-arm video, reported an estimated surge in illegal school-bus passing and described steps to document violations using extended stop-arm cameras that feed video to the sheriff’s office for citation.
District transportation staff presented a social-media post and video to the Levy County School Board to highlight illegal passing of stopped school buses and the district’s steps to document violations.
"As of this morning, that's been viewed 1,324,440," the presenter said of a social-media post about a bus with an extended stop arm. The presenter summarized annualized survey-type data and local counts: "We were passed 10 times and, you know, 8,300 times for the state," and later cited an estimate of "39,000,000 passes a year." The presenter described the district’s investment in three extended stop-arm systems at roughly $3,700 apiece and said buses with eight cameras allow staff to extract outside-camera video and forward it to the sheriff’s office for review and citation.
The video clip shown to the board included several near-miss moments and a demonstration of license-plate capture. Board members and attendees responded with visible concern. In response to technical questions, staff described how drivers are trained on yellow-light timing and said the district follows a process: staff pull the video, email it to the sheriff’s office, and the sheriff's office then pursues citations. The presenter said roughly 90% of videos forwarded result in citations, as reported by the district’s enforcement partner.
The presenter listed potential penalties as described during the meeting: a presenter-cited $365 fine and four points for a single illegal pass, a six-month suspension for a second offense within five years, and higher penalties if injury occurs. These penalty amounts and suspension terms were stated by the presenter and were not independently cited to a statute in the meeting record.
The board did not take formal enforcement votes at the meeting but members urged public awareness and continued use of camera documentation. Superintendent Tammy Boyle and others said the district will continue to work with the sheriff’s office and encourage community education to reduce risks to students.
