It is Back to School season in Idaho and that means new things to watch out for while driving the streets of the Magic Valley. School speed zones are now enforced, School buses will be stopping frequently to load and unload children, and more children at crosswalks.

But not always.

Watch Out For Kids and School Buses Now That School is Starting

I say not always because there is a good chance that you'll also see kids crossing at non-crosswalk locations. Failure to obey the now-in-effect school-related laws could result in fines for drivers. The fines for some infractions have been increased recently by the Idaho State Legislature including the first-time fine for failure to stop when a school bus has the stop arm extended. That fine is now $300.

A second offense within 5 years comes with a fine between $600 and $1,000 plus a possibility of jailtime up to 6 months. Money collected from the fines goes to the school bus camera fund.

The school bus stop arm law is not fully understood by many drivers as I've witnessed often on Washington Street near Park Ave in Twin Falls. The road is 4 lanes wide and a school bus had stopped with the arm out. I was in the far right lane heading towards the school bus and did not stop. A man behind the school bus shook his fist at me as I drove past and yelled something probably not nice (my window was up).

The Boise Police posted a graphic on Facebook with an explanation to make it easy to know when you are required to stop. The simple explanation is that on two and three-lane roads traffic in both directions must stop. On roads with more than 3 lanes, only traffic behind the school bus is required to stop.

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Law enforcement will be monitoring school zones and crossings more in the next few weeks to help ensure drivers respect the proper laws.

Things We Do In Idaho That Seem Legal But Aren't

You probably think you are a perfectly law-abiding citizen in Idaho, but you might be surprised to find that some of the things you innocently do are actually illegal.

Gallery Credit: Credit N8