#PassItOn Campaign Educates Drivers About School Bus Laws

From Montgomery Community Media:

Montgomery County has kicked off a weeklong social media campaign to educate drivers about the importance of complying with Maryland laws pertaining to stopped school buses with activated flashing lights and stop arms.

The #PassItOn campaign will share daily video messages tweeted multiple times to remind drivers of the laws.

When approaching a stopped school bus with activated flashing red lights, Maryland law requires that motorists traveling in the same direction as the bus must stop. The law also requires that drivers coming toward the bus from the opposite direction must stop unless there is a physical barrier, such as a median.

Currently, there are 25 school bus cameras strategically deployed throughout the county that record vehicles that pass stopped school buses with activated flashing red lights. Those cameras will eventually be deployed on up to 100 buses.

The violations are reviewed by the police department’s Automated Traffic Enforcement Unit and citations are mailed to vehicle owners. Violators face a $125 fine. No points are associated with a citation issued through this program. A citation for the same offense issued by a police officer is $570 and three points on the license.

There were 713 violations recorded last school semester tied to school buses.