During the first 8 days of the upcoming school year, the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office will have additional units out to conduct school zone traffic enforcement.
Starting Wednesday, DCSO deputies will be assigned at various times to each school zone in the county to ensure that motorists are obeying the laws and driving safely. DCSO patrol units, detectives, and command staff will all participate to ensure adequate coverage. This is the second year that DCSO will be conducting this campaign.
Deputies assigned to this detail will be monitoring during active school zone times for traffic violations such as speeding, no seatbelt, running red lights/stop signs, and other unsafe driving practices that take place during active school zone times. The goal is to be seen, remind motorists that a new school year has begun, and keep the school zones safe for returning students and staff, according to Daviess County Sheriff Brad Youngman.
The purpose of this operation is to protect kids, Youngman said.
“We began this project last year and I was very pleased with the results,” he said. “I think it’s important to be out there and set the expectations early on so that hopefully we can avoid any major safety issues associated with students returning to school. It’s not necessarily about people intentionally doing wrong. Many of the people we stop just need to be reminded that with summer break over the yellow lights are flashing again and that they need to slow down and be alert.”
According to data from the Transportation Research Board and Safe Kids Worldwide, during the decade of 2012-2022, 25,000 children were injured, and 100 children were killed while traveling to or from school in the US.
DCSO requests that all motorists plan their commute accordingly so that if they traverse a school zone during their day, they do so safely.
“This includes parents taking their kids to school as well as kids that walk or ride a bike to school,” Youngman said. “Parents of those children should discuss safe habits with them with a particular emphasis on distractions such as cell phones or headphones that may inhibit the child’s awareness during their travel.”
