Austin ISD back-to-school safety enforcement ramps up
AUSTIN, Texas - Extra law enforcement will be patrolling school zones across Austin this week. The assignment is being done to remind drivers that students are back.
Corporal Jose Mendez, with the Austin Police Department, said patrol officers will be watching for those violating rules like No Cellphone Use in School Zones. That can result in a $200 fine.
"Obviously, the first week is going to be a week when people and staff are still learning. Parents are still learning and things are just kind of being adjusted. So again, being patient is the main concern," said Mendez.
NHTSA in a fact sheet, released in 2023, provided information that was collected over a 10-year period. The report noted that from 2012 to 2021 there were 998 deadly school-transportation-related crashes.
According to the report, there "were 1.6 times more fatalities among pedestrians (183) than occupants of school transportation vehicles (113) in school transportation-related crashes from 2012 to 2021."
In advance of the new Austin ISD school year, improvements were made to sidewalks, crosswalks and bike paths at more than 45 Austin schools, according to Richard Mendoza, who is in charge of Austin Transportation & Public Works.
More than 200 crossing guards have also been hired, and are in place to help students navigate around the dangers that come with the new school year.
"Our Vision Zero program has determined that speed typically is the number one factor for crashes and incidents, especially around schools. So stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk, obey the speed limits, obey the instructions of our school crossing guards," said Mendoza.
Parents are urged to be part of their kids' safety routine. That plan should happen before and after school, according to Austin ISD Transportation Director Kris Hafezizadeh.
"Ten years and younger. Please accompany them to and from school if they are walking or biking, and especially at the bus stops. Also, in the afternoon, please be at the bus stops to receive the students. The last thing we want is possibly misplacing or lose a child because they don't know where they are," said Hafezizadeh.
Cameras attached to Austin ISD school buses captured two students being hit in 2016. The incidents show how dangerous school zones and bus stops can be for kids. License plates of vehicles that illegally pass a school bus are recorded and $300 citations are sent in the mail.
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"So the system has worked to educate the public more. The stop for school buses, period. I mean, it takes five to 10 seconds, but you could be jeopardizing the life of a student by not obeying that law," said Hafezizadeh.
In July, a national survey of almost 100,000 school bus drivers was released by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services.
It was calculated that on a single day last year, school bus drivers who took part in the survey reported they were illegally passed by more than 66,000 vehicles.
Austin ISD did not have any students injured last year at a bus stop, but there were two incidents in east Texas back in December. Near Tyler, the mother of a student was killed by a driver who didn’t stop for a school bus. And in Livingston, a 15-year-old was hit and killed by a truck at a school bus stop on Hwy 59.