The Downtown Ricky Brown Traffic Spotters Network in cooperation with area officials, would like to remind the public that with school starting back, please be aware of your speeds in school zones and be on the lookout for children loading and unloading from buses around the community said founder “Ricky Brown”
Each year more than 56 million children travel from their homes to attend school. Drivers must take precautions to account for increased traffic and dangers as children return to school, and these school zones become a point of focus for local law enforcement in the mornings and afternoons.
Drivers need to be on high alert during the time periods of 7-8 am and 3-4 pm since these are typically the times when children are going to and from school. Accident prevention requires all drivers to pay special attention when driving in or near school zones.
Cell phone use is one of several laws local motorists need to be aware of. Using a cell phone in a school zone has been illegal since 2018. And it’s now illegal to hold or support a cell phone with any part of your body while driving anywhere.
Motorist can make calls with a hands free Bluetooth device if they need to, and if they’re using GPS navigation, they must have the phone on a Mount type holder that won’t obstruct their view.
Other laws include the following:
School zones have a speed limit of 20 MPH unless otherwise posted. If you go faster, you could get a reckless driving citation, which carries a fine and adds points to your drivers record.
It’s illegal to pass a stopped school bus with the stop signal arm extended and children boarding or disembarking. Unless on a divided highway with a physical barrier - like a concrete median - traffic on both sides must stop when a school bus with red flashing lights and the stop signal arm extended is stopped. You also get a fine and points on your license if ticketed with failure to do so.
Tennessee law mandates children between 4-8 years old, who are shorter than four feet, nine inches must at least be ok a belt positioning booster seat, if not a car seat with a five point harness. Children 9-12 that are at least four feet nine inches tall must be bucked in with a seat belt preferably in the back seat. Older children can legally ride in the front seat but must wear a seat belt. You can be fined $50 if children in your car are not correctly restrained.
Every year law enforcement and school officials receive complaints about distracted drivers in school zones, and this is the one place that we must be aware is our surroundings at all times. Please do your part to protect our school children and obey the traffic laws in Tennessee. For more information on traffic safety in Jackson and Madison county contact the
Tennessee Highway Patrol 1 - 731-423-6630
Madison County Sheriff Office - 731-423-6000
Jackson Police Department-731-425-8400
