The new school year has begun! The Novato Police Department and the Novato Unified School District would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone in our community all laws must be strictly adhered to and will be ardently enforced to ensure safety in this community.

As a reminder to all, the California Vehicle Code provides laws that apply to both motorists and pedestrians, and these laws will be enforced to provide for safety of children and adults alike. The Vehicle Code states "a driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection." Pedestrian crossing violations will be strictly enforced. Please remember when in the vicinity of schools, and children are present, the speed limit is 25 miles per hour. When children are being assisted by a Novato non-student crossing guard at elementary schools and designated crosswalks "No person shall disregard any traffic signal or direction given by such non-student crossing guard" per California Vehicle Code section 2815. Current bail: $170.00

In accordance with the Novato Police Department School Safety Program, a highly visible presence and enforcement at our elementary and middle schools continues through this new school year. For those who are planning to drive children to school, please be aware of the following major concerns most often encountered:

DROPPING children off while double parked, more than 18 inches from the curb, on the street side or while the vehicle is moving are very dangerous actions. Current bail: $20.00.

WHITE ZONES: are passenger zones and allow vehicles to stop for the purpose of picking up or dropping off passengers. Do not leave your vehicle unattended in a WHITE ZONE. The current bail: $25.00.

GREEN ZONES: are timed zones. Do not exceed the time restrictions painted on the curb or posted by signs. The current bail: $25.00.

RED ZONES: are No Stopping, Standing or Parking zones. The current bail: $50.00.

BUS ZONES: are indicated by a posted sign, red curbing or marking on pavement, and allow for buses to pick up or drop off passengers. This includes school buses on public school grounds. The current bail: $250.00.

FIRE LANES: are indicated by posted signs at entrances and red curb with white lettering; there is NO Stopping, Standing or Parking in Fire Lanes, nor can they be blocked. Current bail: $130.00.

U-TURNS: are prohibited by the Vehicle Code at areas designated by posted signs. Current bail: $122.00.

Recent change in the vehicle code requires school bus drivers to activate flashing red signal lights, amber warning lights and stop signal arm when stopped to pick up or let off passengers. All vehicles, traveling in both directions unless on a divided roadway, must stop and shall not pass the school bus until the red flashing signal and stop arm cease operation. Please note that this is enforceable on public school grounds with designated bus zones or turnarounds. Current bail: $500.00.

BICYCLE HELMETS: are required to be worn by all bicycle riders and passengers under the age of 18 years.