As children headed back to school this week, officers with Plant City Police Department made sure commuters remembered to adjust their driving tactics for the influx of students.
With early morning bell schedules, many young drivers and school buses pour into the road right in the heart of rush hour. It happens every year, yet some commuters fail to plan accordingly and will channel their road rage into illegal habits.
“Something new we’re doing this year is two of our four officers in the mornings will be traveling around the city along known school routes and wait for school bus violations,” Sgt. Al Van Duyne, spokesman for PCPD, said.
It’s an issue they’ve been monitoring for years, but this is the first time they’ve decided to designate specific officers solely for the task of school route safety. If they see anyone refuse to stop for a school bus, go around a stopped bus or drive erratically through a school zone, the driver will be stopped.
Van Duyne said PCPD always makes an effort to be more vigilant in school areas during a few waves of the school year. However, the hope is if they can heavily crack down during the first week of school, they can get people back into the practice of making room on the road for the morning school commuters.
In Florida, the easiest rule to go by is to simply stop when you see a school bus stopped with its signs out. Whether it’s a two-way street or a highway, all drivers moving in either direction must stop if the bus is preparing to pick up or drop off children. The drivers must stay parked until the signage is withdrawn and all children are clear from the roadway.
However, if you’re driving on a highway that is divided via a raised barrier or an unpaved median that is at least five feet wide, you don’t have to stop if you are moving in the opposite direction of the bus. Keep in mind that a painted line is in no way considered a barrier. If you’re on the road and on the same side as the bus, you have to stop regardless of how large the roadway is.
Every year, PCPD is reminded of the prevalence of the issue when a string of complaints roll into the department from those who have witnessed the dangerous driving around town. Van Duyne said the department is simply “trying to come up with different ways of being proactive” and hopes to continue to promote safeguards for the city and all of its residents.
The officers will continue their unique patrols through the first week of school and PCPD will then evaluate the results and determine if it needs to expand the program even further. If there are still many violations and stops, Van Duyne said they’re prepared to crack down on the issue until they see compliance.
“As the city grows and we have more traffic and buses and kids and schools, we definitely don’t want something like this to become a problem,” Van Duyne said. “We figured this year is as good a time as any to really show we take this seriously. We don’t want to see anyone, whether it’s young children on their way to school or other drivers, get hurt just because someone was in a rush and decided to violate the law. Adjust your schedule and make sure you leave enough time for the increase in traffic and possible school bus stops.”