Speed limits near San Mateo schools drop as low as 15 mph when children are present, and the San Mateo Police Department is reminding drivers that August is Back to School Safety Month.
The department issued a public safety advisory on Wednesday, Aug. 19, urging motorists to slow down in school zones, stop for buses and yield to pedestrians at crosswalks as the new academic year begins. Police Chief Ed Barberini's department outlined five areas of focus for the month-long awareness campaign, funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The rules are already in effect.
The city's Slow for Students program, completed in phases between summer 2023 and spring 2024, lowered speed limits on streets near every public and private elementary, middle and high school in San Mateo. Streets within 500 feet of a school carry a 15 mph limit; those between 500 and 1,000 feet are set at 25 mph. The reduced limits apply when children are present.
Research cited in the city's September 2025 pedestrian safety campaign shows that a speed increase of just 15 mph, such as going from 20 to 35 mph, significantly raises the chance a pedestrian struck by a vehicle will be killed.
What drivers need to know
The department's guidance covers five areas:
- Follow posted speed limits, especially in school zones.
- Obey each school's drop-off and pick-up procedures.
- Stop for school buses with flashing red lights and extended stop signs. Under California law, drivers traveling in both directions must stop on any two-lane road without a median or center turn lane and remain stopped while the red lights are on.
- Watch for pedestrians and yield at all marked and unmarked crosswalks.
- Parents should teach children walking or biking to school to look both ways before crossing and use sidewalks when available.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data shows 61 people died in crashes involving a driver illegally passing a stopped school bus between 2000 and 2023. Nearly half of those killed, 26 people, were 18 or younger and walking.
Broader safety investments
The city has allocated more than $40 million to pedestrian and bike safety projects. One of those, the Delaware Street Safe Routes to School Corridor Bicycle Improvements project, is currently under construction, adding bicycle infrastructure and traffic calming measures along a key school corridor.
Public information officer Andrew Peek is the department's media contact for the campaign and can be reached at 650-522-7626. Residents can find additional traffic safety resources at gosafelyca.org.
