Charleston County Schools, comprising Johns Island, will have their first day of school on Tuesday, August 13, 2024. This means that the week before August 13, teachers and other school employees will return to school for orientations and meetings. The College of Charleston will open residence halls on Friday, August 16 and the first day of classes will be Tuesday, August 20. This will cause additional traffic downtown around the College of Charleston.
Expect more traffic on the roads, so give yourself extra time to travel on or off the island early in the morning as well as in the mid-afternoon. During those times of day, you are likely to encounter school buses on the road. Extra patience and caution are often required.
South Carolina state law mandates that a motorist stops for a stopped school bus with flashing red lights under these conditions:
- If you are on a two-lane highway, such as Main Road or Maybank, and traveling in either direction, you must stop;
- If you are on a multi-lane highway, such as Betsy Kerrison Parkway, and traveling behind the bus, you must stop;
- If you are on a multi-lane highway and meet a stopped school bus heading toward you, you do not have to stop but should simply slow down and pass with caution.
When you have stopped, you must not proceed until the bus moves or the driver signals to you that the way is clear, or the red lights are no longer flashing. The fine for passing a stopped school bus can be as much as $2,000 and six points for a first offense.
–Tidelines Editors
(Image credits: pixabay.com, scdps.sc.gov)