EDMOND — Some drivers in Edmond weren't following the law the first day of school, and police were watching.
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A dozen extra police officers were scanning the roadways Wednesday near Edmond schools. They made 158 traffic stops and wrote 65 tickets and 93 warnings as part of a special emphasis to make sure school zones are safe, the Edmond Police Department reported.
"We had a lot of people not slowing down in the school zones,” said Glynda Chu, Edmond Police Department spokeswoman. "School is back in session and people need to be careful so we can make it safe for the students going to school.”
Wednesday, officers investigated four traffic accidents that were related to school zones and children coming home from school on the first day of classes.
A 7-year-old girl received minor injuries after a runaway car backed over her in the driveway of her home Wednesday afternoon as her mother was bringing her home from school, Chu said.
She was not run over or struck by the tires of the vehicle. She bumped her head on the concrete and suffered some scrapes, Chu said.
The speed limit is 25 mph in a school zone. All school zones are posted with signs, and many in Edmond have some type of flashing lights. Last year, officers wrote 56 tickets for traffic violations in school zones on the first day of school. Another 69 drivers were given warnings, according to police records.
Overtime for the officers participating in the first-day-of-school emphasis was funded with a grant from the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office.
Officers will patrol school zones regularly throughout the year, Chu said.
Tickets for speeding in a school zone in Edmond will cost $244.
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If safety, and safety alone was the issue, the police car would park, lights on, on the side of the road at the beginning of the school zone (similar to the way you sometimes see an OHP cruiser at the edge of a construction zone, providing visibility). If safety of the children was the only concern, that's what the police would do. All the Edmond police I saw were hiding in a parking lot behind shrubs or something, just trying to pick people off. Now, I'm plesantly surprised that they gave so many warnings, but still. I never speed, but with school zones being only 200 yards long, only in force for 2 hours a 24-hour day during 177 of 365 days, and with some school zones being on streets where you can't see the school at all because it's actually a couple of blocks away, I've found myself speeding in school zones many times accidentally. I hope I never merit a $244 ticket. I would encourage officers to be more visible, as a safety promotion, rather than looking to teach drivers a lesson. Either way the kids are safe, and the officers get a better reputation in the community (at least in terms of traffic enforcement - most officers have a well earned good reputation for the other stuff, and I'm very grateful for their service.)
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Leave a comment. Log in below or sign up (it's free).Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.