With nearly 160,000 students heading to 211 schools on Tuesday, Aug. 26, MCDOT and the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) ask residents to plan extra travel time and be alert to school buses and children traveling to and from school.
Per MCDOT: The MCPD Central Traffic Unit will be across the County focusing on dangerous driving behaviors around school zones. The Automated Traffic Enforcement Unit will place speed cameras in and around schools with all school buses equipped with cameras to catch and fine drivers illegally passing stopped school buses.
Drivers in Maryland must stop at least 20 feet from a school bus when the stop arm is extended, and the red lights are flashing. Drivers may not pass the bus from any direction until the stop signals are off and the bus is moving again. Motorists are not required to stop if the road is separated by a physical median such as dirt, grass or a barrier. Infractions captured by school bus cameras carry a penalty of $250 for each violation. Violators who are stopped by a police officer face a fine of up to $570 and three points on their driver’s license.
MCDOT’s Safe Routes to School program works to encourage and enable children to walk and bicycle to school safely through education, outreach and building safe infrastructure around schools. MCDOT is conducting walk audits at each County school. The projects include building safer walking paths and adding safer street crossings, with 15 projects completed last year. The studies make recommendations for improved crossings and fill sidewalk gaps.
