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GRPD Back To School Warning: Drivers Use Caution

While some schools have already started, most go back to school on Tuesday, after Labor Day.  Grand Rapids Police are asking motorists to be mindful of students and increased activity on the roadways. 

“You never know when a youth is going to dart out in traffic or in between cars, so as drivers we all have to be aware that this could happen at any given time, that’s why we’re asking for drivers to really be cautious.”

Grand Rapids Police Sargent Terry Dixon says the department is urging drivers to be extra careful once school gets underway after Labor Day.

“And we’re asking everyone, not just the first week of school, but for the next ten months until school is out that drivers would please reduce speeds during school zones, we’ll be out actively enforcing those particular areas.”

Sgt. Dixon says motorists should re-familiarize themselves with  the rules surrounding school buses and make sure they follow them.

“Statistically speaking, most students are injured or hurt, right around the pick-up and drop-off location and we’re asking and pleading with drivers to not pass the school bus when those lights are flashing. That’s the most dangerous time for our students.”

Meantime, Grand Rapids Police Chief David Rahinsky says drivers who break the law, especially in those school zones, can expect to be stopped and cited.

Jennifer is an award winning broadcast news journalist with more than two decades of professional television news experience including the nation's fifth largest news market. She's worked as both news reporter and news anchor for television and radio in markets from Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo all the way to San Francisco, California.