.

Slow down! Officers cracking down on speeders in school zones

Marc Sallinger # State
 schoolcop

KNOXVILLE — You may have seen a couple more school buses on the road Wednesday morning, and a whole lot more cops.

As students around East Tennessee head back-to-school, Knoxville Police officers and Knox County Sheriff's Deputies are stepping up their patrols in school zones. They are keeping a close eye on distracted drivers and people driving over the speed limit.

"Usually in the beginning of the school year we try to saturate all of the school zones with officers as much to enforce the laws as to educate people and make them aware,"
said Sgt. Brian Bumpus with the Knoxville Police Department.
"Speeding is a main focus. Distracted driving is also a main focus for us."

In school zones around the county, officers like Bumpus wait patiently with a radar gun for distracted drivers to speed through a school zone, unaware of the danger they pose to kids.

"This is an active school zone. The flashing lights are on to warn motorists that the speed limit drops form 45 mph to 30 mph in the school zone,"
said Bumpus.
"If nothing else, maybe they see a marked car sitting there and that causes them to slow down and pay attention."

School zone speed limits go into effect at the beginning and end of every school day. Drivers over the age of 18 must use hands-free devices if they’re on their cell phone.

Drivers under the age of 18 can’t use cell phones at all.

Last year, KPD officers issued 710 citations in school zones in the first two weeks of school.

"Ideally we would never have to write a citation,"
said Bumpus.
"That would mean that everybody is doing exactly what we would hope they would do."