Drivers passing through school zones in Howard County, Maryland, this week will see some extra police cars, cameras and new lighted stop signs to help keep students safe as they head back to class.
The extra enforcement is part of an annual plan called Helping Arriving Students Through Enforcement, or H.A.S.T.E., to keep the roads around schools safer for students, parents and children.
Additional police officers will be on roadways around schools in Howard County for the first three weeks of the new school year.
“Officers will focus on drivers who are speeding, failing to stop for pedestrians or driving distracted in those areas,” Howard County police said in a news release. “They also will be checking for seat belt and child safety seat use to ensure all occupants are properly restrained.”
Additionally, police officers are reminding drivers that the county’s school buses have cameras on the outside to catch vehicles from passing buses illegally. A fine for that is $250 in the county.
Getting caught by the speed cameras in school zones will cost drivers a $40 fine. The county posts where those speed cameras are and where they are moved online.
The crossing guards on roads surrounding the schools will also be a little easier to see. They will be provided lighted stop signs using funds that were collected from fines through HCPD’s Automated Enforcement programs.
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