“We’re going to do what we have to do to keep our kids safe,” Fannin County Sheriff’s Department Captain Darvin Couch said last Friday.
With that goal in mind, deputies will begin writing speeding tickets and other traffic citations in school zones.
Couch, who is commander of the School Resource Officer unit, said deputies have been working to educate drivers, to remind them of the reduced speed limits in front of schools, in the mornings and evenings when school zones are in force.
“We’ve given drivers an opportunity to correct their behaviors by giving them verbal warnings,” Couch said.
But some have not gotten the message. For instance, last Thursday afternoon, numerous drivers were clocked at 40 miles per hour (mph) in the 20 mph zone in front of Fannin County High School. “This creates a serious danger to our young people,” Couch said.
Not only are vehicles entering and exiting the school campus, many students cross East First Street going to and from their own cars. Drivers are not slowing down for the marked crosswalk.
“There is no excuse for breaking the law in a school zone. There is no excuse for putting our kids at risk,” Couch said.
While the area in front of the high school is the most dangerous, Couch said enforcement will take place at all schools because the areas are all designed to be as safe as possible.
“Our goal is to keep everyone safe,” Couch said.
Fines are increased in the zones and increased points added against drivers licenses, he said.