HELENA — Starting this week, the speed limit around schools will drop to 15 miles per hour during school hours. It might seem like a small change, but ignoring it could lead to a big impact.
“Slow down and watch out for the kids,” says Annette Moore, a paraprofessional at Jefferson School.
(Watch to hear from crossing guards about what they see during the school year)
Moore has been a crossing guard for a decade and says, “I do it so the kids can get home safe and come to school safe, and I get to welcome them to the school for the day.”
As a crossing guard, she has seen what speeding and distracted driving near schools can do.
“Maybe five or ten years ago, we had a middle schooler that was crossing before we got our flashing lights in, and they got hit,” Moore recalls.
The concern goes beyond crosswalks and school zone speeds.
“When you see a school bus that has the little arm that comes out with the blinking lights, you want to stop and give the school bus thirty feet of distance,” Sergeant John Metcalfe with Montana Highway Patrol says. “The really important thing to remember is if the school bus is facing north and there is southbound traffic, that traffic also has to stop.”
Between 2023 and 2024, there were a total of 144 school bus violations.
“It is a big problem,” Metcalfe says. “That is 144 times that people did not appropriately give school buses either enough distance or continued to drive while the lights were going.”
It’s simple as back-to-school kicks off: slow down and pay attention to the changing speed limits in school zones, look for children crossing the street near schools, and do not pass a school bus that is stopped.
“The kids are here to play and learn, and they are not paying attention to any of the traffic,” Moore says. “They are here to see their friends and do their school work.”
