Watch for students, and avoid fines

Elementary schools in Douglas County School District started last week.

Sheriff Ron Pierini of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office reminds residents there will an increase in pedestrian foot traffic by students, especially in the school zones.

The sheriff's department will be "strictly" enforcing the traffic laws in and around schools and at bus stops.

Drivers must bring their vehicles to a complete stop when meeting or overtaking a school bus that has stopped to pick up or drop off children. A flashing red light is visible from the front and rear.

Fines for failing to stop at a school bus range from $187 for passing on the driver's side and $632 for passing on the loading side of the bus.

The sole exception to this law is that a driver doesn't need to stop on a divided roadway when the school bus has stopped on the other side.

The fine for speeding in a school zone is $107. For more information, call the sheriff's office at 782-9931.

n Submitted by Tom Mezzetta, public information officer for the Carson City Sheriff's Office