Nearly 17,000 students will be returning to classes at St. Mary's County Public Schools starting on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022. Private and parochial students return to school on Tuesday, Aug. 23.
Sheriff Tim Cameron and the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office remind drivers to slow down, watch out for school buses and be prepared to stop for buses picking up and dropping off students.
Allow yourself extra time for your morning and afternoon commute as bus drivers make their stops and be prepared to stop for school buses with their stop signs deployed. Watch for children as you make your way out of residential subdivisions.
Drivers are required by state law to stop for school buses that have activated their flashing red lights and to provide at least 20 feet of space from the rear or front of the school bus if approaching from its front. A driver may not proceed until the bus has deactivated its flashing red lights.
Yellow lights activated on a school bus indicate that the vehicle is about to stop to load or unload children. Motorists should slow down and prepare to stop their vehicles.
Red flashing lights and extended stop arms on a bus indicated that the bus has stopped and children are getting on or off the bus. Drivers must stop their cars and wait until the red lights stop flashing, the extended stop arm is withdrawn and the bus begins moving again before they can resume driving.
In Maryland, the fine for failure to stop and remained stopped for a school bus with its flashing red lights activated is $570 and three points assessed on a driver's license.
Drivers are not required to stop for a school bus with its activated flashing red lights if on the other side of a divided highway, as shown in this example:
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| Sheriff's Office School Resource Officers |
The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office and St. Mary's County Board of Education remind students, staff and parents that they can report suspicious activity or persons at https://www.smcps.org/
