Wednesday marked the first day of school for Lima City Schools, and as students across the area head back to class, safe driving in school zones is vital.
LIMA, OH (WLIO) - Wednesday marked the first day of school for Lima City Schools, and as students across the area head back to class, safe driving in school zones is vital. Our Casey Mulcahy caught up with community leaders on the importance of back-to-school traffic safety.
Back to school means drivers will see more school buses, bikers, pedestrians walking, and student drivers on the roads.
School is back in session for local students as summer vacation has come and gone, and back to school also means drivers will see more school buses, bikers, pedestrians walking, and student drivers on the roads. So community leaders from Lima City Schools, AAA, the Lima Police Department, and the City of Lima are teaming up to encourage motorists to drive safely and keep an eye out for students.
So community leaders from Lima City Schools, AAA, the Lima Police Department, and the City of Lima are teaming up to encourage motorists to drive safely and keep an eye out for students.
"We've been doing this for over 10 years. It's just a way for us to recognize our involvement and our concern for the students in the area. We just want to make sure people really know, 'Hey, school is back in session; it's time to beef up your surroundings; make sure you're watching and looking and knowing that there are kids out on the road and on the sidewalks," stated Cindy Nelson, Lima AAA store manager.
With students going back to school, that also means fall sports are in season and students will be on campus longer than the normal school hours. School officials want to emphasize that school zone traffic laws apply even after school is out due to athletes and after-school extracurriculars.Â
"It is around the clock. There are kids that are walking home from practices. We are running buses in the evening, taking kids home from after-school programs as well. All those rules apply no matter what the time of the day is. So it's really just making it a habit every day when you're in that car to put your phone down and be vigilant of kids, pedestrians, and student drivers, and just be ready to be very patient," said Jill Ackerman, superintendent of Lima City Schools.
The state of Ohio is no stranger to crashes involving students 18 and younger. In 2023 alone, there were 997 crashes with youth-related drivers and over 100 deaths. So to help prevent a tragedy like this from happening, local law enforcement is focusing their patrol on speed violations around school zones.
"Just put your phone down. while you're driving. It's not worth it. Anything that comes in as far as a text or a cell phone, wait until you get where you're going to answer that. It's not worth the risk to yourself or the risk to the kids, and the most important thing is we want to keep the kids safe when they go back to school. Also, we want you to pay attention to when the weather changes and the seasons change. The sun goes down earlier, the sun comes up earlier, and look at your field of vision," stated Major Ron Holman, Lima City Police Department.
