Deputies Watch Drivers As New School Year Begins
LEXINGTON, Tenn.–Students in Henderson County returned to the classroom on Thursday. The Tennessee Highway Patrol reports traffic citations in school zones are up. “As much traffic comes through here it’s, it’s a mad house,” said Ray Forrester, who lives near Lexington High School. “I mean you can’t get through here every morning.” Henderson County deputies patrol the school zones. “We’re looking for people that are exceeding the speed limit,” said Sheriff Brian Duke. Duke says disobeying traffic laws in a school zone will cost you. “Points on their driver’s license along with a financial, a monetary fine,” he said. In the 2011-2013 school year Tennessee State Troopers issued 3,856 citations in school zones. Troopers issued 5,247 citations in school zones during the 2012-2013 school year. “The buses are out,” said Duke. “The school zones are active.” The Tennessee Department of Safety says last year‘s citations included 759 speeding violations and two citations for passing a stopped school bus. Forrester says teenagers drive like he did when he was younger. “If it wasn’t for the cars that come through here they’d be wide open,” he said. Henderson County hopes to have deputies stationed at most of the schools that sit on highways. If a driver gets a speeding ticket in a school zone in Jackson, that driver will have to go to court. The judge will then determine the fine.
