The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) and the Montgomery County Department of Police (MCPD) are reminding residents to plan extra travel time and be alert for both school buses and children as students return to school on Tuesday, Aug. 25.
“As a former teacher, I remember the excitement of back-to-school season, especially among our youngest students who may be walking or biking to school for the first time,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “I am urging drivers to slow down, pay attention, and exercise caution, particularly around our school zones. We have more than 155,000 students returning to our County’s 211 schools, and we want all of them to get home safely.”
Montgomery County Police officers will be across the county focusing on dangerous driving behaviors around school zones. All school buses are equipped with cameras to catch and fine drivers illegally passing stopped school buses.
“We want to ensure that all of our students are safe traveling to and from school,” said Montgomery County Department of Police Chief Marc Yamada. “We are asking everybody to do their part by being extra cautious driving, slow down, look out for kids and parents crossing the street, and never pass a stopped school bus. Our officers will be out to help ensure student safety.”
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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.
“As schools open for the new school year, we will see an increase in cars on the road, as well as more people out walking, biking, or riding scooters, particularly in the mornings and afternoons,” said MCDOT Director Chris Conklin. “We have taken significant steps to improve pedestrian safety, including reducing speed limits around schools and in residential neighborhoods, and building out additional sidewalks and crosswalks in school zones through our Safe Routes to School program. Even with these measures to make the infrastructure safer, we need drivers to slow down, pay attention, and recognize the threat their vehicle — that weighs thousands of pounds — poses to people walking, biking, and moving in cars and buses near schools. A safe return to school depends on everyone doing their part.”
MCDOT’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS) 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. Last year, nearly two miles of sidewalks were built near schools as part of the SRTS program.
The program also offers events and hands-on learning that focus on pedestrian and bicycle safety and free resources to get schools, parents, and community groups started.
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MCDOT SRTS has announced the 15 schools they are performing walkability studies for and will be attending back-to-school nights and promoting a survey to collect safety concern feedback. Visit the SRTS Safety Survey page for a list of selected schools and a link to the surveys.
Visit the Montgomery County Safe Routes to School website for more information on the Safe Routes to School program and resources for schools and parents.
For information on MCDOT programs and services, visit montgomerycountymd.gov/mcdot, follow @MCDOTNow on X, Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook, and subscribe to MCDOT’s “Go Montgomery!” newsletter.
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Read the original article at mcgov
