UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - With schools across the Mohawk Valley set to start back up next week, Tuesday the Utica Police Department was reminding drivers to pay attention to the posted speed limits.

Public Safety Commissioner Dan Labella says if the public understands how police work is done, for example using the lidar gun to catch speeders, the public may in fact follow the law.

Members of the public played police officer Tuesday on the Parkway in Utica. They got a chance to track speeders, and boy were there plenty. Members of the Utica Police Department allowed the public to use their lidar gun. It works like a radar gun, but more accurately.

The lidar gun allows for police to pick out a single car, in a group, and track their speed. Police say now is a good time to inform the public about how serious they are about catching speeders, since school will open back up next week.

It's a good time to create some awareness as to speeders and our speed limit in our city, as well as letting the public have some fun with the lidar gun and showing how we implement the tickets that are being issued and what basis we do that on," Labella says.