Elkhart County – For the second time in two years Indiana State Trooper Jim Zeser sat down his ticket book and took on a different role in an effort to make the streets a little bit safer for the children of Elkhart County.
In April 2015 Zeser successfully lobbied to have new signs placed along US 33 in Dunlap warning drivers to stop for school buses along the four lane road. He had noticed a rise in the number of school bus arm violations that he was witnessing and ticketing. Zeser confirmed his suspicions after meeting with administrators from the Concord Community School system. School officials confirmed that they had received a number of complaints from bus drivers and concerned parents about the unsafe and illegal passing of school buses.
Earlier this year Zeser was confronted with a similar problem on Hively Avenue between Benham Avenue and Main Street in Elkhart when he was contacted by Concord Community School system administrators. Zeser moved his patrol duties to Hively Avenue for a few days confirming the same problem in this heavily traveled area. Master Trooper Zeser approached the Elkhart City Mayors Office and through coordinated effort was able to have four signs placed along Hively Avenue that read “All Lanes Stop When School Bus Stops.”
Zeser has lived and patrolled in Elkhart County since being assigned to the Bremen Post out of the academy. Over the past 18 years I have seen many business move in and congestion grow. The school, houses, and apartment complexes that are left in the area are caught in a sea of traffic, commented Zeser.
Zeser stated that his goal was to make the area as safe as he could for the kids before something tragic happened. I wanted to inform the public of the specifics of the law and end the confusion. “Writing a single ticket for a bus arm violation educates one person while setting the signs out can help educate the thousands of people who travel Hively Avenue every day,” stated Zeser.
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