WACO, Texas (KXXV) — "You can have serious accidents if you're not obeying speed," says Sergeant Larry Martinez, as officers remind drivers that school police have full authority to issue citations
- As a brand new school year starts, parents, self-driving students and the community need to be reminded to abide by the school zone laws
- You have to stop if you see a school bus that is fully stopped, especially with their stop sign pulled out
- Tickets for speeding in school zones can get to $150 if you go 10 miles over the limit
Watch Heather share what you need to know:
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
As students return to campus across the area, Waco ISD police are reminding drivers about the importance of following school zone speed limits to keep children safe.
"We have students and staff who are here, we have kids getting off school buses obviously in the crossing walks, we have kids crossing and so, if you're not obeying traffic laws, that's a danger to not only you but to them as well, you can have serious accidents if you're not obeying speed," said Sergeant Larry Martinez with the Waco ISD Police Department.
Martinez warns that drivers who don't follow the rules will face consequences.
"The consequence of that is obviously we'll pull you over, you get a speeding ticket. We'll kind of go over the basic things with you in a school zone 20 miles an hour, watch the speed limit, watch both ways, make sure there's no pedestrians in the streets, and then, of course, like I said, watch your speed and then if we pull you over we're going to let you know. Most of the time it's probably going to be a citation or a ticket which you have to take the court of course but that's the general order," Martinez said.
School bus safety is another critical concern for local officers.
"The school bus stops, they had the stop sign out and the flashing lights are going as well. You're not allowed to go around that school bus because obviously students are either getting on or getting off that school bus and you never know they can always cross in front of the school bus and you don't see them and if you're going at a higher rate of speed than you're supposed to be going, You can easily hit that kid or a staff member as well," Martinez said.
According to the Waco ISD Police Department, speeding in school zones happens frequently. A ticket for driving 10 miles over the limit will cost drivers about $150.
Waco ISD Police Chief Craig Goodman wants to clarify what his department can enforce:
"Waco ISD Police Department like all ISDs throughout the state of Texas, had the same jurisdiction and actions that a city police officer takes or a county police officer makes. We can in fact do traffic stops and we do focus in the school zones to slow people down to keep everybody safe and it's important to me that our community know that we have the same rights as The City of Waco Police Department in making traffic stops and enforcing any and all laws and ordinances throughout the state of Texas and the city of Waco," Goodman said.
Other departments are also reminding drivers about rules of the road:
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