School facilities will soon open their doors to the hustle and bustle of children, which will include a surge in traffic volume. Due to the increase, the Benton Police Department is launching the “Drive Safe for Kids’ Sake” initiative this month.
Officers will be will be out in full force to ensure that drivers adhere to all traffic laws in the school zones. Officers will be looking for speeding violations in addition to other distracted driving issues, such as texting and driving. Sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent-at 55 mph-of driving the length of an entire football field, blind. State law also prohibits talking on a cellular telephone in a school zone when children are present.
There will be a zero-tolerance stance in school zones involving distracted driving, speeding, passing stopped school buses, seat belt usage and other pertinent traffic laws.
For those that have teenagers that will be driving themselves to school, please consider going over some basic rules with them. One thing to be mindful of is the graduated drivers license that limits the juvenile passengers they can carry based on their age.
The goal of “Drive Safe for Kids’ Sake” is to ensure the safety of our children as they travel to and from school throughout the year. During the initiative, the BNPD will also post on social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) information concerning traffic laws, driving safety tips, and more.
To report suspected traffic violations or crime information, call the Benton Police Department at 501-778-1171 or 501-315-TIPS. Individuals also may send us anonymous information to CRIMES (274637) with the keyword BNPD in the body of the text or go to www.crimereports.com to leave a tip. A crime tip can also be submitted via the official Benton Police Department app found on iTunes and Google Play.
Follow BNPD on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Benton-Police-Department/221829174560849
