Traffic alert: What to know about school speed zones on first day of class in Miami-Dade

Back to school is Thursday for thousands of Miami-Dade public elementary, middle school and senior high students in about 400 schools.

Some private schools are back in session already, as are Florida Keys schools in Monroe County.

Archdiocese of Miami’s 64 schools started sessions Wednesday. Broward public schools students return to class on Monday.

You may have noticed more traffic as parents, teachers and students take to the roads to get to and from school. Fleets of yellow school buses and private vans also are on the road. So are kids who walking through neighborhoods and across streets to get to their campus.

That means those flashing lights and signs at school zones are active again.

School speed zones will be in effect weekdays, except for holiday breaks, stretching until next June.

Slow down. Or pay up.

Here’s what to know:

What is Florida’s speed limit in school zones?

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.”

Feel the need for speed? Leave your inner Tom Cruise at home. If you exceed the speed and get caught, you’ll get a ticket. Police are out in force throughout the school year around these zones, but are especially numerous during the first few days of class.

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.

READ MORE: Do all drivers need to brake for a stopped school bus? What Florida law says about that

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.

Monroe County school start times

▪ Each Monroe school has a different start and end time, regardless of grade level. Monroe County Public Schools has the times for each school online and, like Broward and Miami-Dade can be as early as 7:20 a.m. and end as late as 3:45 p.m. The school zone window applies before and after the times.