DAVENPORT, Iowa — Back to school doesn't just mean students return to the classroom. It also means the return of school speed zones.
Outside schools in Iowa, the speed limit decreases to 25 miles per hour from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. In Illinois, it's slower at 20 miles per hour.
Davenport police spent Wednesday running a speed enforcement detail to remind drivers to slow down.
"You've got new kids who are just going to school for the first time, they're not always looking for cars, they're not always paying attention," Pete Owen, with the Davenport Police Traffic Safety Unit, said. "It's your job as a driver to make sure that you're paying attention to the speed limit. Because we want you to slow down, because if that kid darts in front of you, I want you to be able to stop."
In some areas, like outside Madison Elementary School on Brady Street, it's making sure drivers know the speed limit changes from 35 to 25.
Sometimes at the beginning of the school year, drivers just need that reminder. But Owen describes speeding in school zones as a constant issue throughout the year.
"It'll stay pretty consistent," he said. "People, unfortunately, don't adhere to the speed limit as often as they should and are not paying as much attention as they should."
A speeding ticket can cost over $100.
The police department gets complaints about speeding outside all the schools throughout the year. Owen noted that some of the most complaints come from high-traffic areas like Madison and Harrison Elementary schools and Davenport North High School.
Owen said the best thing to do is to leave early to give yourself more time to drive. That way you don't have to speed.
"We pull people over going 55, 60, 70 miles an hour going down Harrison or going up Brady Street," he said. "I would hate to have something so simple as a traffic infraction turn into the death of a child."