Albany police warn drivers to be on alert with Wednesday opening of public schools

ALBANY – “Keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel” are words just as relevant today as when Jim Morrison belted those lyrics out more than five decades ago.

With students returning to class on Wednesday, the Albany Police Department is reminding drivers to keep their eyes out for students and slow down in school zones.

“We do want to notify everyone (that) school is back in session,” Albany Police Chief Michael Persley said during a Monday morning news conference.

Like the school personnel and students returning to campus, drivers may need to make an adjustment to their routines, the chief said.

“You may need to leave home a little early,” he said. “School buses will be back out. Kids will be out. We want people to be mindful of that.”

One inconvenience drivers will not have to deal with temporarily will be school zone speed cameras and the expense of speeding tickets.

The cameras will be active and will record the speed of drivers along with their tag numbers, but for the first month, no tickets will be issued through the system, Persley said. Beginning in September, it will be back to ticketing drivers who exceed speed limits in school zones by 11 miles or greater.

“The first month will be warnings,” Persley said.

There are about 13,000 students in the Dougherty County School System. The system has 21 campuses, with most located inside the city of Albany. There also are a number of private and religious schools in the county.

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
File Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]