Rincon Police Chief Mike Bohannon gave a reminder at Monday night’s City Council meeting for citizens to be mindful of school speed zones around the city.

Effingham County schools begin the 2009-10 session Wednesday.

“We’re going to be aggressively patrolling those areas,” he said.

Bohannon also urged drivers to watch for bus stops. He also said it is against the law to speed inside school zones, regardless if the lights are working.

“We have checked the lights and the lights in Rincon are working,” he said.

The flashing yellow lights were scheduled to be on this week, but the speeds won’t be lowered until classes begin.

“We’re not going to enforce any laws until next week when the kids are actually on campus,” Bohannon said.

He also noted that it takes many drivers a while to slow down to 35mph after leaving a 45mph zone

“All of us become sometime forgetful,” Bohannon said. “The biggest thing is, June ‘til August, school zones are not in effect and (Highway) 21 is a highly traveled area. The county as a whole is growing; Rincon’s also growing with that. Traffic on 21 in the Rincon area’s extremely heavy anytime, day or night anymore. We ask that you slow down, watch what you’re doing and be mindful of the speed limit.

Running 50mph in a 35mph zone in an area like Rincon, where a car can pull out in front of you, or a school bus is stopped to let kids on or off, can pose a problem versus running that speed out on the open road.”