According to a recent survey conducted by Operation Safe Stop, school buses in Michigan are illegally passed more than 2,200 times a day.

The City of Dearborn is trying to change that statistic with a brand-new school bus safety initiative powered by artificial intelligence. 

For the past three years, lead school bus driver Talal Hazimeh has watched as motorists continue to drive around his stop.

"Every day. There's at least one that happens, but that's one too many," Hazimeh said.

Romulus police recently shared a video on social media of a student narrowly avoiding being struck by a vehicle driving alongside a school bus. 

It's incidents like this that Dearborn aims to end.

"It's frustrating because my priority is my kid's safety, the kids on the bus, and it makes me think like you need to be more responsible as a driver," Hazimeh said.

The entire fleet of school buses in Dearborn is now equipped with five exterior cameras, powered by AI technology called "Ava."

"Ava actually knows when that stop arm goes out. Her brain basically turns on and starts recording and determining whether or not a violation is occurring. Ava also knows the difference between a car that stopped and a car that's in motion going past it," said Sam Olsen, associate director of government relations for BusPatrol.

That information will be shared with the Dearborn Police Department.

"The opportunity to help prevent any accidents as pertains to our most vulnerable population, one of our most vulnerable, our children, is extremely important to us," said Dearborn Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud.

Last year, the Michigan legislature passed a law that allows school buses to utilize stop-arm cameras. The program won't cost taxpayers any money, and revenue will come via tickets issued to violators.

"You heard the data statistic earlier; nine out of 10 drivers who do get the citation never commit the crime again," Hammoud said.

A 30-day warning period begins Monday, and full enforcement starts Jan. 19, 2026. 

Dearborn is the first city in Michigan to roll out this school bus stop-arm camera program.