Crime & Safety

Montgomery County Police Target Drivers Who Pass School Buses

Stopped school buses are illegally passed by drivers more than 7,000 times on school-day roads in Maryland.

Montgomery County police are going after drivers who pass school buses while children are exiting.

Offenders face $125 fine, police said. Montgomery County police unveiled the initiative Wednesday.

Under Maryland law, drivers must stop if a school bus activates its flashing lights, the signal that children are about to exit.

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In 2012, Montgomery County Council backed the use of cameras to catch and fine drivers who passed school buses. The cameras were placed on the county’s school buses this school year.

Montgomery County police department’s Automated Traffic Enforcement Unit reviews suspected violations and mails out tickets, police said.

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Police said the program will expand over the next several months and will target bus routes with the highest reports of violations.  The program is designed to allow the cameras to be moved throughout the county as needed, police said.

Patch reported in 2012 that stopped school buses are illegally passed by drivers 72,000 times each school day across the country and more than 7,000 times a school day on roads in Maryland.

 


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