![CHP officer Gil Hernandez cites a driver in front of Quartz Hill Elementary for having a 6-year-old in the front passenger seat. “[The child] needs to be in a booster seat or the proper child restraint system for him to be safe,” Hernandez said.](https://www.theavtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/CHP-school-traffic-enforcement-1.jpg)
QUARTZ HILL – Multiple California Highway Patrol officers were on the lookout Thursday morning for school zone lawbreakers near Quartz Hill Elementary School.
The maximum enforcement traffic operation was part of the department’s commitment to keeping children safe while traveling to and from school, according to CHP officer Gil Hernandez.
“We’re not out here to scare the community or scare the children; we want the children to see that we care and we just want to make sure they’re safe,” Hernandez said.
“The speed limit out here is 25 miles an hour, you can’t be doing 30, 35, or 40, because that’s a ticket,” Hernandez continued. “The reason why the speeds are lower in front of the schools is because children don’t always pay attention to their surroundings.”
Four CHP units kept watch outside Quartz Hill Elementary School, from 7 a.m. until around 8 a.m.
In less than 30 minutes, Hernandez alone cited three lawbreakers. In all three cases, the drivers were carrying children under age 11 who were not properly buckled in.
The maximum enforcement traffic operation continued Thursday afternoon at Ocotillo Elementary School in Palmdale.
Officers were at the school from 2 p.m. until around 2:45 p.m., and several drivers were cited for speeding in the school zone, according to Hernandez.
He said the local California Highway Patrol office will be conducting similar enforcement operations in the future.
“Being that this was a successful operation, we definitely want to continue it,” Hernandez said. “Our goal is to change the bad driving behavior and make a safer school zone for the children.”
School zone lawbreaker tally
Quartz Hill Elementary, 7 to 8 a.m., Thursday, May 15
- Nine traffic stops were conducted resulting in eight citations.
- Three for speeding.
- Three for children under the age of 16 improperly restrainted.
- One cell phone violation.
- One mechanical – fix it ticket
Ocotillo Elementary School, 2 to 2:45 p.m., May 15
- 10 traffic stops were conducted resulting in nine citations.
- Seven for speeding.
- One cell phone violation.
- One mechanical – fix it ticket
Grace says
The City of Lancaster needs to also work on students, parents not crossing at crosswalks.
People just walk in the streets while on the phones. Some days I can not believe more
students are not killed.
valley view mom says
I would love for this to happen for often, especially at my kids school, where parents double park leaving no room for other drivers to pass, people speeding past the school when students are walking out to greet parents, or parking in the bright neon spot that says no parking and honking at the people standing in front of there car Waiting for there kids, it clearly say no parking pedestrians crossing. It angers me the ignorance of these parents, i hope CHP can plan a morning and afternoon at valley view.
Monica says
IT’S ABOUT TIME!!! TOO MANY CHILDREN HAVE DIED!
There needs to be more of these ‘School Zone’ monitoring!!!
Great JOB!
-THANK YOU!
As says
I’m glad they’re doing this and they should be doing it a lot more often at all the schools. I am shocked that I see the worst driving when I drop off my kids at school. They go to different schools but it’s still the same horrible driving. You’d think that drivers, knowing that there are children present would drive better and follow traffic laws but they don’t, everyone is in a rush, double parked, not following stop signs, not using crosswalks and adults darting through cars in the street with their children, and speeding. Terrible.
dumbadnblind says
A ticket may have saved countless lives. Great job!
jen h says
dep. hernandez is the best!
Betty says
We love Hernandez he’s awesome. Now he needs to come out to Tierra Bonita on 27th St East.. Stop sign coming out of park states” No left turn between 7:30-8:30am and between 1:30-2:30pm and RARELY abides by that sign…and no crosswalks between Lancaster Blvd n East Ave I children running across the street to the desert. And people don’t care I’ve watched them pass cars slowing down to ck for their kids it’s horrible. A Sheriff’s car come by maybe once or twice a week to shoo away cars parked in desert and /or between no parking signs giving no tickets nothing and as soon bas she’s gone they’re right back there…
Max Pierson says
Observe the speed limits, they are figured out very intelligently. It took me a very long time to realize that if I just don’t care how fast I’m going and assume that the speed limits are the best of advice then not much bothers me when I’m driving.
It’s also very good for all of us if we relax and follow along behind slower drivers, not too close, no rudeness. Allowing a couple of seconds space in front of me and letting somebody else set the pace seems to work really well. If I get home a couple of minutes later what is the upshot? What, I’ll come up to the end of my life and be short a couple of minutes?
Eric says
This whole country would benefit greatly from people just SLOWING down a bit. I was driving to work this morning and some idiot on Sierra Highway, all the way from Lancaster at K to Palmdale at 0-8, kept swerving in and out of traffic to gain an INCH. More than once, he pulled in between two vehicles who only had enough space between them to accommodate his car. Congrats buddy, all that erratic driving and you made it to 0-8 10 seconds before I did. All I had to do was sit in the left lane, behind the same car the entire way. 10 seconds, not worth your life.