Full Notification

The Ashland Police Department reminds residents that school begins Monday, August 21, 2023 and school buses and children will once again be travelling our streets and sidewalks. Ashland police officers will be conducting proactive patrols of school zones and bus stops to ensure the safety of students and motorists.
• Virginia law requires traffic in both directions to stop on undivided roadways when students are entering or exiting a school bus.
• School buses use yellow flashing lights to alert motorists that they are preparing to stop to load or unload children. Red flashing lights and an extended stop sign arm signals to motorists that the bus is stopped, and children are getting on or off the bus.
• The area 10 feet around a school bus is where children are in the most danger of being hit. Stop your car far enough from the bus to allow children the necessary space to safely enter and exit the bus.
• Be alert. Children are unpredictable. Children walking to or from their bus are usually very comfortable with their surroundings. This makes them more likely to take risks, ignore hazards or fail to look both ways when crossing the street.
Children boarding and exiting school buses must be especially careful around the school bus “danger zone,” which is the 10 feet in front, behind, and on each side of the bus.
For more information about back to school safety, please go to the National Safety Council’s website at https://www.nsc.org/.../school-safety/school-safety-home