School speed limits are being enforced

With schools back in session, complaints are already flooding in to law enforcement officials regarding motorists who are disregarding school speed zones and racing past schools buses which are loading and unloading students.

‘My son has nearly been hit twice while trying to catch the bus out by the new Centertown School,’ said Lee Hennessee of his teen-age son who rides the bus to Boyd School each day. ‘There was one lady who actually sped up when she went by the bus and just barely missed my son. It’s really dangerous. I don’t think a lot of these people are paying attention.’

Failing to pay attention to school zones and stopped buses can be not only a danger to students, but can also be a danger to one’s wallet as tickets for disregarding bus signals start out at $142 while school zone violations, which are based on speed over the posted limit, average out to be $115 apiece.

School zones are often marked by flashing yellow signals but are sometimes simply indicated by a 15 mph speed limit sign, which is just as legally binding when it comes to getting a ticket.

‘We take this very seriously,’ said McMinnville Police Major Bryan Denton of enforcing school speed zones and school bus rules. ‘Fines are doubled in school zones. People need to have a heightened sense of awareness this time of the year and not be distracted by tuning their radio, or talking on their cellphones.’

Denton said the city has received several complaints of unsafe driving around buses, noting any time a motorist approaches a bus with its stop sign activated, they must stop.

‘The law actually says you must stop for a school bus sign and you cannot resume travel until the bus begins in motion again, regardless of when the sign stops flashing,’ Denton said, adding motorists are also required to stop on four-lane roads. ‘We always suggest if there’s any doubt of if you should stop when it comes to a divided highway, then stop. As for school zones, the speed limits are there for a reason so motorists need to get back into the mindset of slowing down.’

Sheriff Jackie Matheny said officers concentrated on the new Centertown School when it first opened, running their blue lights near the entrance to get traffic used to slowing down.

‘People were so used to there not being a school there, that they are slow to adjust,’ Matheny said. ‘We need folks to be careful because we want to do everything we can to keep our children safe.’