Police Asking Drivers to Prepare for First Day of School

It’s that time of year again when kids are sadly saying ‘farewell’ to the summer season and getting their backpacks ready for the first day of school.

Starting on Wednesday, students in the Pocatello-Chubbuck school district will be heading back to school, but that also means drivers need to be extra cautious while heading to work in the morning as well.

Pocatello Police Department’s Officer Jordan Johnson said tomorrow, officers will be on the lookout for drivers who are speeding through school zones.

“Over the summer, you could develop habits and forget, especially if you’re taking the same way to work everyday, you get used to it,” Johnson said. “When you actually sit down and realize the risk of the day-to-day task of driving, this is a good reminder of taking that responsibility very seriously.”

He added, there are several new flashing light signals that have been added to school zones around the Pocatello-Chubbuck area, to remind drivers to slow-down to 20 miles per hour during posted school hours in school zones.

Johnson said, these signs have proven effective so far.

“People are sometimes used to driving by the same signs over and over again, everyday, but if it’s flashing, we’ve seen it effectively get their attention.”

While a speeding ticket in Idaho starts at $33.50, that nearly triples if you get caught speeding in a school zone, clocking-in at $100 just for the cost of the penalty itself.

Ticket cost in Idaho: https://isc.idaho.gov/files/Infraction_Fee_Schedule_2012.pdf