FREDERICK COUNTY, Va. — The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) has implemented a new school zone safety plan in designated school zones serving Millbrook High School and Red Bud Run Elementary School; Frederick County Middle School and Gainesboro Elementary School; and Stonewall Elementary School.
The initiative is designed to improve safety for students and promote long-term compliance with speed limits countywide.
LiDAR cameras have been installed in the school zones along Route 7 (Berryville Pike), Route 522 North (North Frederick Pike) and Route 11 North (Martinsburg Pike). The cameras will detect vehicles traveling 10 mph or more above the posted school zone speed limit.
Enforcement will occur only when school is in session, warning lights are flashing and during student arrival and dismissal times.
The program will roll out in phases:
Phase 1 – Warning period (Feb. 11-March 12):
The LiDAR cameras will begin monitoring traffic. Registered owners of vehicles traveling 10 mph or more above the school zone speed limit will receive a mailed warning.
No fine will be issued and no further action will be required. The warning period will last 30 days.
Phase 2 – Civil enforcement (beginning March 13):
Civil violations will be issued to registered owners of vehicles traveling 10 mph or more above the school zone speed limit. Notices will be mailed to the registered owner.
The violation does not carry DMV points, will not be reported to the DMV and will not affect insurance.
Procedures are in place for registered owners to contest violations, including situations in which the owner was not the driver, the vehicle was misidentified or the violation occurred outside authorized school zone enforcement times.
According to prior speed surveys conducted while school zones were active and warning lights flashing, 71,482 vehicles traveled through the monitored zones in a single week.
Of those, 28,509 vehicles — 39.9% — were traveling 10 mph or more above the posted school zone limit.
Of the vehicles recorded speeding:
14,338 were traveling 10-14 mph above the limit (50.3%) 10,621 were traveling 15-20 mph above the limit (37.2%) 3,550 were traveling 21 mph or more above the limit (12.5%)
Officials said the plan is modeled after similar programs nationwide, where average speeds have decreased by as much as 92% in monitored school zones.
Additional information will be released following the sheriff’s office’s December 2024 presentation to county officials as the program transitions from the public information phase to the warning phase beginning Feb. 11.
Officials said the goal is to prevent injuries and fatalities and urged drivers to slow down in school zones.
