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SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – Schools in Spartanburg start on Monday and the police department has safety tips to help keep everyone safe.
At the beginning of each school year, the Spartanburg Police Department has extra patrol. They want to make sure drivers are paying attention to the signs, slowing down, and staying off of their phones while driving.
Starting next week there will be more school buses on the road and officers in school zones.
“We will assign our traffic officers to the school zones, just to make sure that people are slowing down. People are used to driving the normal speed, but now in school zones, it’s 25 miles per hour,” said Major Art Littlejohn.
If you see lights flashing, that means slow down.
Littlejohn said people need to get used to the school zones again.
“Officers will make some stops, hopefully, all those will be warning tickets, at least for the first couple of weeks. Then, you’ll probably get a citation,” he said.
Drivers who do not have kids could still be stuck in their old morning routines to get to work.
“You know how it is, people are in a hurry and they’re in a hurry, they’re sending messages. So, we’re encouraging everyone to take a little time to slow down and put your cell phones down, especially when you’re in school zones,” said Littlejohn.
Police said drivers need to pay attention to the crossing guards.
“The school crossing guards are stepping out on the roadway in front of cars and they’re taking that chance where they have to get you to stop,” said Littlejohn.
Seatbelts should be worn and Littlejohn said parents need to make sure their cars are completely stopped before kids get out.
If your child walks to school, Littlejohn said to make sure to use sidewalks.
“Sometimes people are in the roadway and that doesn’t give the cars enough room to pass by,” he said.
Make sure to use the intersections instead of just walking in the middle of the street.
The main goal is to get your kids to and from school, as safely as possible.
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