Do you have to obey school zones during winter break? When do classes resume in Miami?
You may be going back to work on Tuesday, Dec. 26. But the kids are out of class through the first week of January.
What does that mean for your South Florida commute?
For one, no school buses, student drivers or teachers trying to beat the morning bell, or pouring onto the roads to get home after the afternoon bell.
It also means a brief pause to school speed zones in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. While some school zones are year-round, including in areas that have summer school, winter break generally puts a pause on the flashing lights and 15 mph speed limits.
Here’s what to know about school zones:
Are school zones in effect?
▪ School is out in Miami-Dade and Broward and students and teachers are on winter break until classes resume on Monday, Jan. 8. That means most school zones are taking are taking a vacation, too. Note that some private schools or educational programs might have a different calendar, so drive with care around active campuses and heed posted traffic signs.
▪ Those familiar flashing school zone lights should be turned off during winter break. That means you can skip the 15 mph speed limit and travel the usual posted speed limit, usually 30 to 40 mph depending on the area.
▪ There is a chance you will see an occasional school bus on the road, likely transporting kids taking winter break programs or shuttling athletic teams or band members to events. Remember that you still need to stop when a school bus flashes its red lights and extends the stop sign.
MORE: Do all drivers need to brake for a stopped school bus? What Florida law says about that
What to know when speed zones resume
Don’t get too used to the free flow of traffic around schools during the two-week winter break. Things will be back to the normal crawl on Jan. 8.
Here’s what to know:
▪ Most school speed limits are 15 mph, and never more than 20 mph during morning and afternoon hours. According to the Florida statute, school zones take effect “30 minutes before, during, and 30 minutes after the periods of time when pupils are arriving at a regularly scheduled breakfast program or a regularly scheduled school session and leaving a regularly scheduled school session.”
Speed zone fines
▪ Speeding in a Florida school zone, according to Florida law, are double that of regular speeding tickets.
▪ 1-5 mph over the limit in a regular zone usually gets you a warning. But in a school zone it’s $50.
▪ 6-9 mph over the limit in a regular zone usually gets you a $25 ticket. In a school zone it’s $50.
▪ 10-14 mph over. The general $100 ticket is doubled to $200.
▪ 15-19 mph over. The general $150 ticket is doubled to $300.
▪ 20-29 mph over. The general $175 ticket is doubled to $350.
▪ 30 mph and above. The general ticket is $250. In a school zone it’s doubled to $500.
▪ Phone in hand? Police can also issue tickets, with a minimum of $60, if drivers are caught going through a school zone with phone in hand, according to Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Best to mount that phone on the dash and keep your eyes on the road.
▪ What if you don’t see the flashing lights? Sometimes you may turn into the middle of a school zone when driving through a residential area and may not come upon a flashing light for a block or so. But you should see signs and you’ll generally note traffic has slowed to a crawling line. And if it’s Monday to Friday from 7 to 9 a.m. or around 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., just figure you could hit a school zone and pay attention.
Miami-Dade school start times
▪ Start and end times for elementary schools in Miami-Dade vary depending on grade level. And so the speed zones may vary — but they will be marked with flashing lights and signs and last for 30 minutes on either end, before and after.
▪ Kindergarten to first grade students generally are in class from 8:20 a.m. to 1:50 p.m. while second- to eighth-graders generally are with their teachers from 8:35 a.m. to 3:05 p.m. These time may vary.
▪ School times for middle schools generally run from 9:10 a.m. to 3:50 p.m.
▪ School times for high schools can run from 7:20 a.m. to 2:20 p.m.
Broward County school start times
▪ Broward County Public Schools schools have different start times. The district has the times for each school online but school can start as early as 7:30 a.m. and end as late as 3:45 p.m. depending on the school and grade, so pay attention to the signs along your commute and the sight of school buses, and slow down 30 minutes before and after.
