School zone speed limit sign located in front of Lockhart

By:Wiley Foil

The Knightdale Public Safety Department has made their presence around Knightdale High School lately. The Undercover silver Dodge Chargers are now widely known around KHS. These police cars were bought with a grant for Knightdale by the Government’s Highway Safety Program, and are specifically designed only for making traffic citations, and investigating traffic accidents. The officers then have to send in their written citations to the GHSP. They are responsible to notify the government of each traffic stop they make in the Chargers.
Everyone seems to be in the dark as to why they are here. The facts, however, speak for themselves. There have been many recent deaths of teens who they failed to put on their seat belt. Knightdale high school’s resource Officer Batey states “We are focusing on seat belt enforcement and speed. Also, it is against the law to text and drive, [and] we are keeping a keen eye out for texters. We are killing two birds with one stone, [by] oberserving [both] the violations in a school zone and young high school drivers.” Batey believes this will make students drive slower and use their seat belts.
School zones are to protect younger kids, especially those who are getting on/off school buses. Speeding in these zones is very dangerous and can often turn deadly. Officers want to stress how young drivers need to slow down and buckle up. Our own Batey thinks these regulations will help improve the safety of our KHS drivers. “If we can make it through the year without one of our kids dieing, [we’ve] made a difference. We are trying to get kids to always wear their seat belts, not only on the way to school.”
After a survey of close to 100 students at KHS by Knightdale Media, only four percent got all the questions correct. There was a total of three questions. 59% of students ‘guessed’ the correct speed (25mph, school zone speed limit). 12% of students ‘guessed’ the correct time the school zone comes into affect in the morning (7:50am). 33% ‘guessed’ the correct time in the afternoon (2:30pm). This survey took place on the road near Lockhart Elementary and the Knightdale Police Station, it shows the lack of student knowledge about the speed limit. The North Carolina Department of Transportation is planning on placing flashing beacons (or lights) on school zone signs in order to make drivers more aware of the signs. Some students who took the survey said this would make a huge difference and would be a lot more affective. A similar study was done by the NCDOT, and it proved a very low compliance rate with the school time speed limit. Ultimately, the main reason why the Knightdale Police have been at KHS so much, is for your protection. So slow down, and buckle up.

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