Quick learners, slow drivers needed around local schools
It’s time for pencils, time for books, time for teachers’ dirty looks.
From Irving College to Morrison, school is in session throughout Warren County. It’s crucial to keep that in mind when traveling through school zones, especially in the morning and afternoon hours when students are either arriving at school or on their way home.
School zone speed limits are in place for a reason. While it might seem an inconvenience to drive 15 mph in some school zones, that speed limit is established for the safety of children.
Foot traffic around schools can be heavy. There are vehicles turning and stopping to pick up students. Children, despite repeated warnings from parents, can dart into the road without looking both ways.
That’s why responsible adults should drive at a slower speed and with an awareness of their surroundings. As licensed drivers, it’s our duty to remember safety when an 8-year-old might forget it.
If the safety of children isn’t enough to persuade motorists to drive slower, perhaps the thought of a costly speeding ticket will do the trick. Fines are doubled for tickets obtained in a school zone and school zone violators generally don’t get the option of attending safety school to have their citation dismissed.
A ticket for speeding through a school zone will cost a driver an average of $115 in McMinnville.
As unpleasant as a $115 fine may sound, fines can be paid and soon forgotten. Children, however, can never be replaced.
That’s why it’s vital for us as concerned citizens and responsible drivers to ease off the gas and drive slowly through school zones.