ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Several months into the school year, St. Petersburg Police still report a problem with speeding in school zones.

They’ve had to put patrols out in those zones to help keep students safe. Police are now giving out tickets every morning to speeders.

“We’d rather just have people slow down and not have to do that. But we have to try to change the behavior. That’s why we’re out here,” said Sgt. Michael Schade.

Schade leads the St. Pete PD traffic unit. He has his team out every morning in a different school zone.

He’s surprised how many drivers seem to forget students may be crossing the street. 

“We have signage. We have flashing lights. We have crossing guards,” Schade said. “And even on a morning where we have officers out here, people are still speeding through the zones, not realizing they’re in a school zone.”

Schade feels distracted driving is the biggest culprit.

But he also sees drivers being more aggressive in general since the pandemic.

“I still think that we have a lot of aggressive drivers out there that are used to being able to be on the roads with a lot less traffic. And we now have a lot more traffic in the area and it’s still causing a problem,” Schade said.

Police gave out 20 tickets in just one hour this week in the school zone on 16th Street near Northeast High.

They say the goal isn’t to punish drivers but to try to keep kids safe.

“The school zone purpose is for the safety of the kids crossing the street. We don’t want to have any kids hit, injured or killed. So it’s really about paying attention to your surroundings as you're driving,” Schade said.

St Pete PD also wants to remind drivers that speeding fines are doubled in school zones. You can also get a ticket for not being hands free in a school zone.