Students at Mars Primary Center line up to meet Amy Rodgers, on the right, who is the school nurse, near the end of the first day of class in August 2023. Butler Eagle file photo

Slow your roll. Pump the brakes. As summer ends, school begins, which means drivers need to be more aware than ever about their surroundings.

Beginning Wednesday, Aug. 21, students will line the streets, waiting in the dimly lit mornings to catch a ride to school on one of the many bright yellow buses that will roam Butler County.

Knoch, Freeport, Slippery Rock and Allegheny-Clarion Valley school districts head back to class on Wednesday. Mars, Moniteau and Seneca Valley students return to school Thursday, and Butler Area classes are back in session on Aug. 28. Karns City children return right after Labor Day on Sept. 3.

We urge drivers to be alert to the buses — noticeably bright yellow — making stops, and to students — maybe less noticeably — standing at the end of roads and driveways waiting for their ride to school.

The state’s law related to stopping for buses requires motorists to stop at least 10 feet away from school buses that have their red lights flashing and stop arm activated.

This rule relates to motorists when they are behind a bus, meeting the bus or approaching an intersection where a bus is stopped. Further, motorists following or traveling alongside a school bus must also stop “until the red lights have stopped flashing, the stop arm is withdrawn, and all children have reached safety,” according to PennDOT.

In Cranberry Township, the police department has launched a slow down campaign, which will run for two weeks and coincide with Seneca Valley School District’s first day of school.

From Aug. 22 through Sept. 5, hundreds of campaign and radar signs will broadcast the message: Slow down.

Further, police will increase patrols over this stretch, enforcing the ask for drivers to slow down as school returns to session.

The campaign is a communitywide initiative with intentions to make streets safer for everyone.

We would encourage, if you drive on Butler County roads, take this two-week stretch to reset your driving patterns — for all hours of the day. Be cautious, be careful and be alert to students, buses and pedestrians everywhere.

— TL