Sheriff John E. Zaruba announced today his annual “Back to School Safety Strategy and Traffic Safety Campaign.” The traffic initiative started in June when DuPage County residents saw signs popping up around the county reminding motorists to “Protect our Children – SLOW DOWN.” It will now continue with the Sheriff’s “Zero Tolerance in School Zones” campaign that coincides with the opening of school. These campaigns are designed to protect children of all ages and to show motorists that driving recklessly around children will not be tolerated.
Sheriff’s deputies will be stationed in school zones to enforce speed limits, seat belt use, child safety restraint laws, passing stopped school buses, reckless driving behavior, and other traffic laws.
Deputies will be aggressively enforcing traffic laws in all school zones in the morning, during the lunch hour, and in the afternoon as children are being picked up. Following the month long campaign, deputies will continue to patrol school zones throughout the year.
To further raise public awareness, the Office will periodically use a speed radar display trailer in and near school zones. The trailer is placed on the street and shows the speed of each approaching vehicle. “All of us, at one time or another, have probably found ourselves driving faster than we thought we were,” Sheriff Zaruba said. “This trailer gives an easily visible, accurate reading of each vehicles speed and reminds motorists to drive within the posted speed limit.” The trailer will also be used throughout the year in other areas where speeding autos may be a problem.
“The idea behind this traffic safety campaign is to raise public awareness about the dangers of driving recklessly in school zones and to remind people that school speed zones exist for a reason, to protect our children,” Sheriff Zaruba stated.
The last component of Sheriff Zaruba’s safety strategy is his annual Safety Saturday Fair that will be held Saturday, September 26th from 10 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. at the DuPage County Fairgrounds on Manchester Road in Wheaton. Sheriff Zaruba organized the event in 1997 in an effort to heighten public awareness about safety and promote positive interaction between emergency services organizations and DuPage County residents. Most exhibits are designed to teach families about safety and crime prevention. "We want kids to have fun while they are learning about safety,” Sheriff Zaruba said. “Safety Saturday is a great way for families to spend time together and interact in a positive way with police officers and emergency personnel."
“Our back to school safety program isn’t about arresting people and writing tickets,” Sheriff Zaruba said, “it is about teaching our children how to keep themselves safe while reminding drivers of their responsibility to not only drive safely, but to keep our children and our communities safe.”

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The DuPage County Sheriff’s Office reminds readers that any charges indicated in this document are merely accusations, and the listed defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.