Tulsa Police See Increase In Drivers Speeding In School Zones

The Tulsa Police Department has caught two drivers in the last week going 40-50 mph over the speed limit in a school zone.

Officer Craig Heatherly said he cited a driver for going 67 in a 25-mph school zone near Union High School. He said that is the fastest he has ever stopped a driver speeding in a school zone.

A few days later, another officer pulled a car over for going 61 mph near Thoreau Demonstration Academy.

"Most of the people that we stop and cite in school zones say that they did not realize they were in a school zone," Heatherly continued saying, "Then what we end up with is a two-factor issue of people are not paying attention and they are speeding."

He said in Oklahoma, police officers cannot arrest a person during a traffic stop for speeding in a school zone, but drivers do have to go to court.

Speeding in a school zone can carry a fine of $500 or more. A judge could also sentence a driver to anywhere from 10 to 30 days in jail.

Heatherly said cracking down on speeding in school zones is something he has made his focus on, because early in his career he worked two back-to-back fatalities in school zones, followed by a serious injury collision involving a student that darted across the street after getting off a school bus.

"We are really serious about doing enforcement in school zones. Kids do not always obey pedestrian rules, they might just jet across the roadway at any time for no given reason and that is why people have to be going at a speed that they can safely bring their vehicle to a stop if that happens," he said.

In the last 12 months Tulsa Police have cited 474 drivers for speeding in school zones and three for disobeying a crossing guard. Heatherly said oftentimes officers will reduce the citation to speeding alone to lower the cost for drivers. He said because of that, it is likely twice that amount.