The Daviess County Sheriff’s Office has completed its second annual back-to-school traffic enforcement detail designed to promote safe driving in school zones. Sheriff Brad Youngman said the added presence seems to make a difference in making sure drivers are paying attention and keeping speeds slow.
This year’s detail ran from August 7-16. During this period of the first 8 days of school, DCSO patrol deputies focused on traffic enforcement in each area school zone during the active school zone times each morning and afternoon. Schedules were altered and overtime was authorized to allow additional deputies and detectives to be on hand to accomplish the goals of this detail.
DCSO deputies conducted 75 traffic stops in 21 school zones resulting in 70 warnings and five citations.
“With this being only the second year we’ve done this detail, it’s probably a little premature to show a definite pattern. But looking at the numbers, it does seem like the additional presence in the school zones and media attention about this detail is helping to get the word out and slow people down,” Youngman said.
Beginning August 19, DCSO patrol units will remain active in school zones but without the additional units the detail provided. Due to the success of the detail, DCSO will plan additional traffic enforcement operations as needed such as when school returns from Christmas Break or when school administrators report problems within their school zones.
“This was a great way for our deputies to engage with the public and show that we care about the safety of our kids while also reminding people to slow down and drive safely,” Youngman said. “Deputies reported having many positive encounters, and I think most motorists we stopped understood the significance of why we were out there and what we were hoping to accomplish.”
