CHARLOTTE COUNTY — Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell reminds motorists to know and obey Florida State laws of when and when not to pass a stopped school bus picking up or unloading students. Motorists approaching an oncoming school bus on a divided highway with at least a five-foot median should slow down but do not have to stop for a school bus with its flashing red lights on. If there is no median in the roadway, motorists are required by law to stop both ways. Motorists following any school bus must also stop when the red flashers and its stop signs are extended.

According to Prummell, deputies are reporting numerous school bus violations, especially on Midway Boulevard in Port Charlotte. The CCSO Traffic Unit, in marked and unmarked vehicles, has increased its enforcement looking for school bus law violators. Fines are $161 plus four points on the driver’s record.