JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville man is challenging Duval County’s stop-arm school bus cameras after he was cited for passing a stopped school bus.
Action News Jax has told you when Duval County Public Schools entered an agreement with BusPatrol. The company uses AI-powered cameras to catch drivers who pass stopped school buses and has already cited tens of thousands of drivers.
Jack Pengchan was at the corner of Duval Road and Dunn Avenue making a right turn when he passed a school bus that was stopped across the street. Now he’s pushing back on that violation, saying the cameras didn’t consider how his view was obstructed by traffic, and he’s questioning the system as a whole.
“I can see clearly from the bus angle, perspective that I did not stop for the bus – the school bus. But what they don’t realize is from my driver point of view, I wouldn’t be able to see because of the middle lane that is blocking my view to the bus and the sun that’s coming toward me,” Pengchan told Action News Jax’s Deja Mayfield.
According to district officials, Duval County School Police have reviewed the more than 22,000 violations that have gone out since May. Of that number, BusPatrol says more than 300 drivers have requested hearings.
So far, 129 of those cases have been heard: 113 drivers were found liable, and only 16 were dismissed.
While Florida law requires drivers in both directions to stop unless traffic is divided by a physical median, Pengchan is pushing back on his $225 citation. He claims the system’s cameras didn’t consider his obstructed point of view before he was cited.
“You have to look at the different perspective from the driver’s side,” he said. “I support safety and the children so much that I think I want to call an independent audit.”
Pengchan still questions the system’s efficacy and the district’s 50/50 revenue-sharing agreement with the company. And while few people have had success challenging their citations, he says he is still putting up a fight.
“I contest already, but eventually if they ask me to pay, I’m going to have to pay,” he said.
Going forward, Pengchan says he wants to see the cameras on a five-second delay before they capture suspected violators. He also wants the systems to consider how a driver’s view may be obstructed.
In response, BusPatrol says law enforcement reviewers are only looking for violators who clearly passed the school bus. For those hoping for nuance to be considered, the company says they’ll have to go through the challenge process.
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