BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Safety in school zones.
Boynton Beach Police have made it a major priority to stop drivers from speeding, checking their phones, and zooming past school buses.
Now that a new school year is off and running, officers are patrolling schools zones almost every day. This year, hundreds of tickets have been written to drivers in school zones, according to police.
Traffic officers wrote citations to 12 drivers speeding through the school zones at Citrus Cove and Poinciana Elementary schools yesterday. The highest speed was 43 mph in the 20 mph zone. That’s a $456 fine. #slowdown pic.twitter.com/vBEEl2APpt
— Boynton Beach Police (@BBPD) October 16, 2019
Palm Beach County had 179 school bus crashes reported in 2018, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Boynton Beach police hope their education efforts can reduce that number.
CLICK HERE FOR COUNTY-BY-COUNTY CRASH STATISTICS
Officers Lawrence Rini and Vincent Mastro set out before sunrise to catch dangerous drivers.
On a recent October morning, the two were focused on Seacrest Blvd. were several school buses were picking up students.
It didn't take long before a driver went past a bus that was stopped with its red lights flashing and stop sign activated.
Officer Mastro pulled the driver over and learned he was was driving with a suspended license. The driver also told offers he didn’t see the school bus.
"Either they are not paying attention or sometimes they are running late," said Officer Mastro.
Throughout the morning, almost a dozen more school buses stopped in the area. Officers Rini and Mastro kept their eyes peeled for drivers speeding and passing buses that had their lights on and stop signs out. Thankfully, the officers found that drivers were obeying the rules.
Officer Mastro feels the presence of police is making a big difference.
"We are out there every day. It has made everyone more aware," said Officer Mastro.
The officer added that drivers don’t realize the impact one mistake can make.
"It just takes one child to be late for school and run across the street without looking, and that would be catastrophic for that family," said Officer Mastro.