Dearborn began enforcing its AI-powered school bus camera program on Monday, making it the first Michigan community to issue automated citations to drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses.
The enforcement program follows a 30-day warning period that started December 15, during which violators received warnings instead of fines. All school buses in the Dearborn Public Schools fleet, more than 100 vehicles, are now equipped with stop-arm cameras powered by artificial intelligence technology called "Ava," developed by BusPatrol.
The cameras activate automatically when a bus deploys its stop arm and flashing red lights, capturing video and still images of vehicles that fail to stop.
How the Camera Technology Works
Drivers who illegally pass a stopped school bus with red lights flashing and a stop arm extended will face a $250 civil infraction for a first offense and $500 for subsequent violations within one year. The footage is reviewed by the Dearborn Police Department before citations are issued to the registered vehicle owner, according to The Detroit News.
Mayor Abdullah Hammoud emphasized that the program aims to change driver behavior rather than generate revenue.
Data from BusPatrol indicates that 90 percent of drivers who receive a citation do not commit the violation again. According to Operation Safe Stop, a national survey, school buses in Michigan are illegally passed more than 2,200 times daily.
The recent survey showed a nationwide estimate of over 39 million illegal passings during the 2024-2025 school year, though data suggests a 10 percent decrease from the previous year.
The AI technology can distinguish between stopped vehicles and moving traffic, scanning up to eight lanes simultaneously with 30 percent greater accuracy than human observation. The cameras capture images up to 200 feet in front of the bus and record the date, time, and location of each violation, Axios reported.
Legal Framework and Program Implementation
Michigan law requires motorists to stop at least 20 feet from a school bus when its red lights are flashing and remain stopped until the bus resumes motion or deactivates its visual signals.
The 2024 Michigan legislature passed Public Acts 161, 162, and 163, which authorized stop-arm camera systems and established that fines collected from camera-based violations must be distributed to school districts for transportation safety purposes.
The program operates on a violator-funded model, meaning the cost of equipment and enforcement is covered by fines rather than taxpayer dollars. BusPatrol provides the technology and reviews potential violations before forwarding evidence packages to law enforcement.
Sam Olsen, associate director of government relations for BusPatrol, said Dearborn's program represents the first comprehensive school bus stop-arm safety initiative in Michigan and could serve as a model for other communities, as per the Michigan Public.
