League City drivers who blow past a stopped school bus when classes resume could face fines up to $1,250 on the first offense.

The League City Police Department announced Thursday, Aug. 6, that officers will increase patrols around school zones and bus stops as both Clear Creek ISD and Dickinson ISD campuses reopen. CCISD holds a transition day for certain students Tuesday, Aug. 11, with the first full day of classes Wednesday, Aug. 12. Dickinson ISD follows on Thursday, Aug. 13, with its own transition day Wednesday, Aug. 12.

Officers will target two violations in particular: speeding through active school zones and failing to stop for school buses, the department said in a statement published by Galveston Island News.

What the law requires

Texas Transportation Code § 545.066 is straightforward but often misunderstood. When a school bus extends its stop arm and activates flashing red lights, drivers in both directions must stop. That includes oncoming traffic.

Drivers may not proceed until the bus moves again, the driver signals them forward or the red lights shut off.

The single exception: a road divided by a physical, unpaved median. A left-turn lane does not count as a divided roadway.

What it costs

A first offense carries a fine of $500 to $1,250. A second violation within five years jumps to $1,000 to $2,000, and a court can suspend the driver's license for up to six months. If a driver causes serious bodily injury while passing a bus, the charge escalates to a Class A misdemeanor. A repeat bodily-injury conviction becomes a state jail felony.

Driveway warning

The department also urged residents to check mirrors carefully when backing out of driveways during morning hours, noting that children may be walking or biking to bus stops in the early weeks of school.

Parents of new or teen drivers should review bus-stop laws before classes begin, the department said.

Flashers already running

As we reported Aug. 4, the city's Traffic and Transportation Department has been testing school zone flashers ahead of the new year. Those lights begin operating on their normal schedule Friday, Aug. 7, three weekdays ahead of the first day of school. The department can now monitor and reprogram all flashers remotely, and crews have been repainting crosswalks and inspecting signage at school zones citywide.

The increased police patrols begin with the transition days on Aug. 11 and continue through the opening weeks of the school year.