Tulsa Police Crack Down On School Zone Speeders

With students back in class, Tulsa Police said they're cracking down on drivers speeding in school zones.

Tuesday afternoon, News On 6 went out with Officer Jeff Downs, who was patrolling the area of Mingo Road in front of Union High School. He gave tickets to several speeders. Many of them had excuses. 

"They always mention that they forgot that school started or they didn't mean to," Downs said.  

The school zones are active three times a day at Union in the morning and early afternoon, and after school lets out. Many drivers were caught off guard in the middle of the day, and are now paying the price. One driver told said he didn't have the money to pay the ticket he received, and it was the first ticket he had gotten in years. 

"We've seen speeds as high as 20 miles per hour over the speed limit," Downs said. 

Downs said they often catch people texting in school zones, and as a result, they often are not paying attention and speed as well.

"Distracted driving is starting to be a big problem for us," says Downs. 

Downs says this problem has put students at risk. One Union High School student says he almost got hit twice. Another student is thankful for the strong police presence. 

"It's good because people are always speeding through here," says student Tyler Clark. "It's good to keep that under regulation."

"I am really glad they are focusing on school zones for the children," says driver Doris Graham, "the children are not as alert as the adults."

All September and the rest of the school year, Tulsa Police will focus on speeding and distracted driving across Tulsa. They warn they will not be lenient.

"The Tulsa Police Department has zero tolerance on speeding in school zones, so if you do caught by the police don't get surprised if we give you a citation," Downs said.