Fairview police deal with more crimes and more calls

In this 2007 file photo, a police officer pulls over a driver on suspicion of speeding in a school zone.

(Dana E. Olsen/The Oregonian)

Thousands of students head back to school Aug. 29 in Portland, and many more will follow after Labor Day.

That means school zones that were dormant over the summer are back in effect. If children's safety isn't enough motivation to slow down, police will be patrolling for speeders.

Here are a few questions and answers about school zones and buses, pulled from Commuting Q&A greatest hits.

There seems to be no statewide regulations about how school zones must look. Why aren't the zones uniform?

It wasn't long ago that Oregon drivers turned to the state Legislature to bring uniformity and predictability to school zones. So lawmakers in 2004 they passed a solution: school speed zones would be in effect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

That wasn't too popular, it turns out, and it was repealed when the Legislature next met in 2006.

Today, although there is some room for variation, school zones are generally supposed to strictly adhere to a standard. Usually that means a set of 20 mph school zone speed limit signs marked either:

"When flashing," if the sign is equipped with flashing lights, or;

"School days, 7 AM to 5 PM."

Which kind of sign is determined by weighing the cost and the benefit of increased visibility. You'll see flashing signs more on roads with higher speed limits.

Crosswalks away from school grounds can also be marked as school zones "when children are present." That means when children are crossing or waiting to cross the street, or when a crossing guard is present to assist children.

I've noticed small lights on the back side of school speed-zone lights. What the heck are those for? Shouldn't there be clearer, labeled indication at the end of a school speed zone?

Some school-zone signs indicate that a lower speed limit is in effect "when flashing." (Other signs just tell you the hours the lower speed is in effect.) But a police officer on the lookout for speeders would usually be stationed somewhere behind the flashing sign.

The lights are help law enforcement verify the beacon is active, and that drivers who fail to slow down are actually disobeying the sign.

School zone drop-off zones are a mess. Why?

Many schools, especially in Portland, weren't designed for the drop-off and pick-up traffic they get today.

But the number of kids arriving in a family car is slowly shrinking. In Portland, more kids in kindergarten through eighth grade walk or bike to school than arrive in a family vehicle, and that's been the case since about 2010.

About 30 percent arrive in a family vehicle, while 22 take a school bus.

About 32 percent of students walked to school in 2015, according to a survey administered by the Portland Bureau of Transportation's Safe Routes to School program, while 10 percent bike.

All the more reason to take it slow near schools.

Do both lanes need to stop for the bus or just the one that the bus is in?

When a school bus driver turns on is warning lights or stop sign, drivers approaching from the front and rear must stop, leaving at least 20 feet of room.

Divided highways are the exception. Oncoming traffic separated from the bus by an unpaved median or barrier may continue. That includes train tracks, like where MAX runs along the middle of East Burnside Street.

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Have a commuting question? Contact Elliot Njus at enjus@oregonian.com or on Twitter @enjus