Drivers in need of school zone safety refresher after several quiet months due to pandemic

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - When in-home learning became the norm for many school districts, traffic around campuses slowed down or ended completely. Now, the routes to schools are getting busy again and some drivers need a refresher course with safety tips when school kids are around.

The Santa Barbara Police department has its traffic patrol officers in the area of campus where they are seeing drop offs, pick ups and traffic back ups.

Some safety tips for drivers include:

• Do not double park at a school during drop off due to visibility issues
• Pay attention to crossing guards and crosswalk activity
• Never pass a vehicle stopped for pedestrians
• Yield when you see blinking lights at pedestrian crossings
• Be aware of bicyclists in school zones and share the road

The Santa Barbara Unified School District welcomes back students today, the Goleta school district starts classes Wednesday and the Carpinteria School District has its first day of classes Monday.

The morning drop off was described by one parent at Roosevelt Elementary school as "hectic." Scott Topper said, "we were here this morning. We had hundreds and hundreds of students and moms and dads and you have all the traffic."

He was on campus with his first grader Skyler.

Officer Carl Kamin with Santa Barbara Police is assigned to traffic patrols on a motorcycle. "We've got a lot of parents most of which maybe have new kids going to school and are not familiar with the dangers and the hazards around the school during the drop off and pick up time."

He says, combine that with distracted drivers in the area, and it becomes very challenging. Kamin was quick to spot drivers on their cell phones in the area.

Even with a crossing guard at Roosevelt,  there's a lot to sort out when kids are coming and going,  and traffic is coming through in three directions. "A lot of people are not aware of where can legally park or where they can stop to pick up kids so a lot of time they use red zones or are parking in front of fire hydrants," said Kamin.   "They will double park, blocking an already congested area,  making matters even worse for everybody."

Whether or not you are near a school,  if a school bus is making a stop,  there are very strict laws on what you as a driver must do. Kamin said, "presumably if the red lights are flashing and or the stop sign is out  on the side of the bus, it is a requirement to stop, regardless of the direction of travel you are going." The only exemption is if the street has a raised center median.

"Everyone needs to be super cautious when they are out there," said Topper.

Kamin said, "we're trying to keep things going smoothly and safely, getting some compliance to making sure it is a safe environment for everybody."

(More details, videos and photos will be added here later today)