Hanover County Sheriff’s Office Shares School Safety Message

As the school year begins, the sheriff’s office will maintain high visibility now and throughout the school year to ensure the safety of children being transported to and from school. With school buses, motorists, pedestrians, crossing guards, and cyclists added to the daily commute, motorists are reminded to be alert and slow down to ensure a safe start to the school year. Deputies will be actively enforcing all laws pertaining to school zone and bus safety.

The sheriff’s office would like to share some quick safety tips:

• School zone speed limits are reduced when the yellow lights are flashing.
• Flashing yellow lights indicate that the bus is preparing to stop to load or unload children. Motorists should slow down and prepare to stop their vehicles.
• Flashing red lights and extended stop arms indicate that the bus has stopped and that children are getting on or off. Motorists must stop their cars and wait until the red lights stop flashing, the extended stop sign is withdrawn, and the bus begins moving. However, drivers are not required to stop when the roadway of the driver and the school bus are divided by a physical barrier or an unpaved area.

Please consult with the individual schools for the new staggered drop-off and pickup procedures. It is expected that new procedures will create a higher volume of traffic. In addition, traffic patterns at the schools will be different this year, which will further impact traffic. Be especially cautious during the first few weeks of school, as everyone becomes accustomed to the changes. Plan on taking additional time to get in and out of the school zones. Other motorists may wish to make plans to take alternate routes and avoid school areas during these times.

Please keep in mind the start and end times of schools:

• Elementary Schools: 8:10 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.
  • Arrival times will be staggered between 7:30 a.m. and 8:10 a.m.
    Departure times will be staggered between 2:15 p.m. and 2:45 p.m.
• Middle and High Schools: 9:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
  • Arrival times will be staggered between 8:45 a.m. and 9:15 a.m.
    Departure times will be staggered between 3:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Please join the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office in its efforts to ensure this school year is safe for everyone.