As we start another new school year, I would like to remind drivers to be mindful of the school buses and young pedestrian traffic that will be appearing on our roadways.
- Expect heavier than usual traffic during the first few weeks of school.
- Slow down and stay alert especially near the school.
- Please be patient at the drop off areas and stay with your vehicle. The north parking lot of Ennis Elementary is not a drop-off or pick-up area. Please use the approved west lot and drop off lane to keep everyone safe.
- Expect frequent stops along the bus routes, allow for extra time and don’t crowd or illegally pass the bus. Just a little tip: Ennis School buses have cameras and you will get a visit from Law Enforcement should you choose to illegally pass a school bus.
- Never pass a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk (it is also illegal).
- Obey the speed limits. The maximum speed limit on all residential streets is 25 miles per hour with the exception of the 15 mile per hour speed limit around the Ennis Public Schools. The 15 mile per hour speed limit is in effect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Buckle up – no matter how short the trip. All occupants are required to have seatbelts on.
- When driving, remember the (at least) “two-second rule”: Choose a fixed object on the road ahead (signpost, tree, overpass, bridge abutment, etc.). When the vehicle ahead passes that object, begin to count “one thousand one, one thousand two.” If drivers reach the same object before finished saying “one thousand two,” they are following too closely and should gradually slow down until they have reached the safe following distance.
- Do not drive while distracted by cell phones, passengers or anything else that takes your focus from the task of driving.
- You must completely stop at all stop signs.
The Ennis Police Department will be joining the staff of Ennis Schools again this year to greet, educate and protect the students.
Please slow down and drive safely, and a reminder to the students, if your parents graduated before 1998, they passed school without Google.
John Moore
Chief of Police
