The Charles County Sheriff’s Office reminds citizens if you see a stopped school bus with its red flashing lights activated, you must stop (IN EITHER DIRECTION) unless there is a physical barrier between you and the oncoming bus – not a painted median.
There is NEVER an acceptable excuse to pass a stopped school bus. Your time is not more valuable than a life.
This video shows a violation that occurred on December 14, 2022, in Charles County.
Fortunately, the child was unharmed. The driver in this video will be cited, but the consequences could have been tragic. Please drive safely, especially around school buses!
On January 18, 2021 the BusPatrol school bus safety program in Charles County went into full effect–meaning motorists who violate bus-stopping laws, as captured on buses outfitted with cameras, will receive an actual citation in the mail rather than a letter of warning.
The Charles County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) and Charles County Public Schools (CCPS), in partnership with a safety technology company, BusPatrol, launched the program in November 2021 and provided a 60-day warning period in which violators received a letter in the mail alerting them of the violation and making them aware of the laws.
The program placed 375 cameras on school buses to deter drivers from illegally passing stopped school buses that have their red lights activated.
From November 18, 2021 – to December 31, 2021, the number of violations detected by BusPatrol cameras was 1,120.
Maryland law requires a driver of a motor vehicle to stop for a school vehicle (school bus) that is stopped and operating flashing red lights and remain stopped until the school vehicle resumes motion or deactivates the flashing lights. If a driver violates this law in the presence of a police officer and it is cited by a police officer, the penalty is a $570 fine and 3 points.
