Drivers in Bucks County received 408 citations for speeding through school zones or passing stopped school buses in 2025, and the totals rose from the prior year as Central Bucks students prepare to head back to class.
The county recorded 324 school zone speeding citations and 84 citations for illegally passing a school bus last year, according to data released by the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts. That placed Bucks third in the state for school zone speeding and fourth for illegal bus passes.
Central Bucks kindergartners and students in grades 6, 7, 9 and 10 report Monday, Aug. 31. All students follow on Tuesday, Sept. 1, according to the district's 2026-27 calendar.
The timing matters. Statewide data show more than a quarter of all school zone and school bus violations occur in September and October, as drivers readjust to lower speed limits and the return of buses to neighborhood routes, according to a 2025 GoErie analysis of court records.
Statewide numbers
Across Pennsylvania, citations for illegally passing a school bus jumped 16% from 2024 to 2025, rising from 1,503 to 1,746. School zone speeding citations climbed more than 8%, reaching 3,923, the highest total since 2019, as reported by PhillyBurbs. Combined, school-related traffic citations rose 10.5% year over year.
Over the five-year period from 2021 to 2025, Bucks County accumulated 1,459 school zone speeding citations and 551 illegal bus-passing citations, placing it among the top five counties statewide in both categories, according to the Times Herald.
What drivers face
A police-issued citation for passing a stopped school bus carries a $250 fine plus a $35 surcharge directed to the School Bus Safety Grant Program, additional court costs, an automatic 60-day license suspension and five points on the driver's record.
Pennsylvania law requires motorists to stop at least 10 feet from a school bus when its red lights are flashing and its stop arm is extended. In school zones, the speed limit drops to 15 mph during posted hours.
The Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts urged drivers to slow down in school zones and stop for buses as the new school year approaches.
Local enforcement already ramping up
Buckingham Township, Doylestown Township and New Britain Township were among Bucks County municipalities that participated in a PennDOT and Pennsylvania State Police aggressive driving enforcement wave running through mid-August, according to TapInto Doylestown.
Whether targeted school zone patrols will follow has not been announced. The first Central Bucks buses roll Aug. 31.
