Police Cracking Down on Speeding Motorists in School Zones

Children in Toccoa-Stephens County are back in school and local law enforcement is again reminding motorists to slow down in school zones and to remember the rules of the road when you see a school bus.

Tuesday morning, Toccoa Police, along with Stephens County Sheriff’s deputies and the Georgia Stte Patrol were again out in force in the area of the Big A Road and Memorial Drive school zone pulling motorists over for going over the speed limit.

Police Chief Jimmy Mize reminds drivers that slowing down in a school zone is not a suggestion, it’s the law.

“We want to remind everyone that the caution lights go on usually around 30 minutes prior to school starting and runs until after the first bell, around 8a,” Mize said. “That’s one area where we don’t have to be gracious with speeders.”

Mize said so far, his department has handed out numerous citations for traffic violations inside school zones just since the new school year began last week.

And it’s not just important to slow down in school zones and around school buses in the morning hours.

Research by Triple -A shows that more than one-third of drivers roll through stop signs in school zones or neighborhoods.

Mize said always come to a complete stop, checking carefully for children on sidewalks and in crosswalks before proceeding.

And according to Triple-A, one-third of child pedestrian fatalities occur after-school hours.  Chief Mize said children are particularly vulnerable during the afternoon hours following their school day.

“A lot of times in the afternoon people become complacent even though they see the big yellow buses on the road and even if they see the stop signs because of other things on their minds,” Mize said. “We want to remind everybody that once they see the buses rolling, they need to pay attention to the big yellow bus and the stop signs when it comes out.”

Triple-A reports over the last decade, nearly one-third of child pedestrian fatalities occurred between 3 and 6 p.m.

Triple A’s “School’s Open-Drive Carefully” awareness campaign is designed to help curb unsafe driving behavior at or near schools.

In addition to slowing down in school zones, Triple-A offers several other suggestions for motorists, including:

Eliminate distractions. Children often cross the road unexpectedly and may emerge suddenly between two parked cars or from out in front of a school bus so never take your eyes off the road in front of you when in a school zone or around a school bus.

And watch for children on bicycles. Triple-A recommends if you see a child on a bike slow down and allow at least three feet of passing distance between your vehicle and the bicycle.