VALPARAISO | Drivers not paying attention to the flashing yellow lights in school zones, may see a different set of flashing lights in their rearview mirrors.

The Valparaiso Police Department increased patrols Wednesday morning, with four additional officers watching for speeders in school zones. Sgt. Mike Grennes, the department's public information officer, said, with classes getting underway, the increased presence should remind drivers to take extra care.

"People have been driving through the school zones all summer. They don't realize they're in session now," he said. "That's a big reason why we're doing the increased patrols, so people can see us."

In a period of less than two hours, officers made more than a dozen stops Wednesday morning. With elementary schools situated largely within neighborhoods, Grennes said the city has a lot of students who walk to and from school with friends, and motorists need to keep an eye out.

"The kids, they try to watch, but they get in a group and they don't pay attention," he said. "They're potentially going to get hit if somebody is speeding and not watching out."

Some school zones aren't as obvious as others. Drivers along Roosevelt Road can see Thomas Jefferson Elementary and Middle schools, just south of Glendale Boulevard, but about a quarter mile south, drivers can't see Parkview Elementary. There are flashing signs and crossing guards along Roosevelt Road, though, that should be a reminder.

"We have a lot of crossing guards, and they're an important part of this, too, because they're trying to get kids to safely cross some of the busier streets to school," Grennes said.

Monitoring traffic near Parkview Elementary as students were heading to class, Officer Ron Chapman stopped two speeding drivers just minutes apart from one another. Grennes said it's particularly troubling because there's a high concentration of young walkers and around the time they're walking to school, drivers who are late for work might be going a little too fast.

Grennes himself stopped one speeding driver along Morgan Boulevard on Wednesday morning. Printing a warning ticket from his cruiser, he said the driver told him he was running late for work because he had to get his children to school. Grennes said the decision of whether to issue a warning or a citation is up to the individual officers, but said regardless, it sends a message to the speeder.

"It's not really about giving tickets. It's about being visible," Grennes said. "Just slow down."