August 9, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
Out of order!
Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins has announced that the 25 mile per hour flashing lights over Highway 70 in the school zone at DCHS and DeKalb Middle School are temporarily out of order and for the next few days will not be operating at the beginning and end of the school day.
Chief Collins admonishes motorists to continue obeying the 25 mile per hour speed limit in that school zone at the beginning and end of each school day just as if the lights were working. Of course, a constable will continue working there each day directing traffic through the school zone.
Motorists are cautioned to be careful around school busses that are stopping to let children on or off the bus.
Tennessee Law 55-8-151 states that drivers on a roadway overtaking a school bus from any direction must stop when the school bus stops with the purpose of receiving or discharging any school children.
This applies to all roadways aside from “separate roadways” that are divided by a barrier, raised median or an unpaved space of five feet or more where pedestrians are not permitted to cross.
Drivers passing in the opposite direction on a separate roadway of a school bus that has stopped for school children to enter or exit should still proceed with caution.
Failure to stop upon approaching a school bus that is stopped is a Class A misdemeanor. Drivers who don’t stop may receive a fine ranging from $250 to $1000.