The Texarkana Arkansas School District is beginning another year and Texarkana Arkansas Police Department needs everyone’s help to ensure the safety of our children. Traffic fines are doubled in school zones and officers will be conducting traffic enforcement within these school zones with zero tolerance. Special emphasis will be placed on speeding violations as well as careless driving and improper passing.
These are a few reminders regarding school safety:
- It is illegal to pass a school bus from any direction while the busses’ red lights are flashing.
- Most school zone speed limits and boundaries are clearly marked and should be strictly followed. 15 miles per hour is the maximum speed within school zones.
- Remember to watch for kids, because they may not be watching for you.
- Parents should take care when dropping their children off in school driveways.
- Parents should always remind their children to watch for other vehicles that are pulling through driveways and always look both ways before crossing a school driveway.
Patrol Officers will be working in school zones at the beginning and end of each school day, and the Speed Trailer will be posted at different schools throughout the school year. These officers, along with the on campus school resource officers, will take enforcement actions dealing with criminal violations that occur on school property. In addition, the patrol officers will often spend time walking through the school during the day to ensure the safety of both our children and faculty.
These types of additional Selective Traffic Enforcement Operations are paid for by our Community Traffic Safety/DWI Enforcement Grant, which is administered through the Arkansas Highway Safety Office. It has provided additional funding to the Texarkana Arkansas Police Department since 1991. Under this grant, additional officers target impaired drivers with an increased emphasis on those who violate the underage DUI laws within the State of Arkansas, which makes it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to operate a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above .02%.
