Police Department

Spokane Police Remind Drivers to Slow Down in School Zones

Julie Humphreys, Public Safety Communication Manager, 509.625.5868

Friday, September 1, 2023 at 11:23 a.m.

As most Spokane students head back to school on Tuesday September 5th, SPD asks that you take extra caution when driving near schools. That includes slowing speeds to 20 MPH in school zones and yielding to people crossing streets. Most vehicle-pedestrian collisions occur in crosswalks, marked or unmarked. Motorists must stop for pedestrians at crosswalks. All intersections are considered legal crosswalks and should be treated as such whether marked or not.

Pedestrians can do their part to avoid collisions as well. Cross the street on a “Walk” signal. If there isn’t a signal - look left, right, and left again before crossing at marked crosswalks or intersections.

Officers will be watching for people not following the rules of the road and may issue a ticket. Tickets can run from $68 for not crossing the street at a crosswalk, to up to $145 for a motorist failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.

Additionally, school zone photo-speed cameras will be in operation beginning Tuesday morning. Eight cameras are located at six elementary schools and one high school in Spokane. For the calendar year 2022, more than 20,000 speeding tickets were issued from photo-speed cameras. Cameras were added to three additional schools last fall resulting in 3,782 of the 2022 tickets.  Avoid getting a speeding ticket – which can cost you up to $450.00 –, avoid causing a collision, and help keep our children safe by slowing down and being attentive in school zones. Speed is one of the five fatal traffic violations, along with DUI, aggressive driving, distracted driving, and not wearing a seatbelt.

Please Watch this video from Spokane Police and Spokane Public Schools: Drivers Be Aware: School is back in session!

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