Applicants Were Judged on the Basis of What Their Court Is Doing in Terms of Public Outreach

February, 2012

Austin-----

Recently the San Marcos Municipal Court was selected to be honored as a 2012 Traffic Safety Award Recipient at the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center’s (TMCEC) Municipal Traffic Safety Initiatives Conference in Addison on March 20-21, 2012.

Applicants were judged on the basis of what their court is doing in terms of public outreach in traffic safety in an effort to reduce automobile crashes, traffic fatalities, driving under the influence, child safety seat offenses, red light running, and other-traffic related offenses.

The San Marcos Municipal Court believes it is never too early to begin learning about Texas traffic laws and ways to stay safe while riding in a car. With the start of the 2010 school year, the court implemented its school-wide traffic safety initiative, which they have found to be very successful. There were multiple opportunities to speak with students of all ages and focus on traffic safety education. Through their Teen Court program, it allows juveniles to have a better understanding of the dangers of disobeying traffic laws along with the associated consequences and by providing juveniles with alternative sentencing they are more likely to learn from their mistakes. The San Marcos Municipal Court has collaborated with schools, youth organizations, and the San Marcos Police Department to raise awareness and promote traffic safety throughout the city. Through the courts’ school-outreach programs, community-wide initiatives, and compliance measures, the San Marcos Municipal Court has utilized a variety of resources to promote traffic safety throughout the city over the past year.

The Municipal Traffic Safety Initiatives program is funded by a grant from the Texas Department of Transportation. This grant sponsors the Traffic Safety Awards to recognize municipal courts that have made outstanding contributions to their communities in the area of traffic safety.

TMCEC is a project of the Texas Municipal Courts Association (TMCA), composed of municipal judges, clerks, prosecutors and court support personnel, which monitors legislation, attorney general opinions and changes in case law to ensure that the 871 municipal courts in Texas remain up-to-date on the law.

Award recipients may be contacted at:512.393.8190, The Honorable John Burke, Presiding Judge, or Lindsey Mena, Case Coordinator, City of San Marcos, Texas 78666.

For further information, please contact:

Hope Lochridge

TMCEC Executive Director

1609 Shoal Creek Blvd., Suite 302

Tel: 512.320.8274 Fax: 512.435.6118