I've actually heard people argue against having lights on signage for this exact reason: people shouldn't be reliant on lights that may or may not work to modulate their behavior when driving. They had been referring mainly to pedestrian crossing signs, but I think it applies here too. I generally treat any school speed limit sign as in effect if it's before nightfall as a rule of thumb.
Drivers who appeal school speed zone camera fines almost guaranteed to lose
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Re: Drivers who appeal school speed zone camera fines almost guaranteed to lose
#32Re: Drivers who appeal school speed zone camera fines almost guaranteed to lose
#33After 3 decades living in WestCentral FL counties, I learned something about local police departments. You can measure the ethics of the police chief (and to a lesser degree, county commissioners), by whether they embrace or refuse revenue-generating traffic cameras. a school speed zone camera caught him going 38 mph when he thought the speed limit was 40mph because the school speed zone sign wasn’t flashing when he…
Real wtf is the 40mph is OK in a place kids are (e.g. some go early or stay late or weekend sports) generally around but only drive slow at certain times.
American urban design is almost a competition to see which town or city can rack up the highest pedestrian body count.
Re: Drivers who appeal school speed zone camera fines almost guaranteed to lose
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you seen modern US schools? They're basically setup like prison yards because of all the school shootings. There's no way the kids are going to run into the street without first going through a parking lot (and, often, a line of bollards). On the bright side, there's zero reason to slow cars down when kids aren't being actively picked up or dropped off. (Not that there was a reason to slow the cars down during o…
I am haven't seen a US school. What about walking? I'm guessing most people use the school bus or get driven then?
It varies greatly by area, but generally most too young to drive get bused or driven, and those old enough drive themselves.
Re: Drivers who appeal school speed zone camera fines almost guaranteed to lose
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
Real wtf is the 40mph is OK in a place kids are (e.g. some go early or stay late or weekend sports) generally around but only drive slow at certain times.
The road that runs next to my local elementary is 50mph, 25mph when children present.
That sounds like they should just build a fence and keep it at 50.
Re: Drivers who appeal school speed zone camera fines almost guaranteed to lose
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you seen modern US schools? They're basically setup like prison yards because of all the school shootings. There's no way the kids are going to run into the street without first going through a parking lot (and, often, a line of bollards). On the bright side, there's zero reason to slow cars down when kids aren't being actively picked up or dropped off. (Not that there was a reason to slow the cars down during o…
I am haven't seen a US school. What about walking? I'm guessing most people use the school bus or get driven then?
Across the US, only 70% of students live within 3 miles of their school, and only 20% of students are within 1 mile. Toss in weather, carrying supplies for after-school activities, tight schedules (e.g., going from some before-school activity to the actual school building), a general fear of kidnapping, a car-centric culture, and the fact that buses are cheap and school dropoff is often easy to squeeze into a parent's schedule, and you'll find that various forms of driving are extremely common.
Re: Drivers who appeal school speed zone camera fines almost guaranteed to lose
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is the very thing that happened to me. I didn't pay it, and refuse to pay it (The infraction occurred during COVID lockdowns) and my credit got docked for maybe one kr two points in the 850's. Fuck them. The day they impose it on my street we can talk.
In california, this kind of stuff gets forcibly paid by you. I think they even go further and other unrelated california courts can prevent your driver's license or registration to be blocked. They can also intercept a tax refund, etc.
Yep. They can suspend your license over unpaid fines.
Re: Drivers who appeal school speed zone camera fines almost guaranteed to lose
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
You would still be suddenly dropping a 40mph road to 20mph for a short stretch. These schools are frequently built on major roads.
Are you suggesting this is bad?
I am suggesting that having a major road that suddenly drops to half speed, without significant signage, then speeds back up is bad, yes. That's just a form of speed trap.
Re: Drivers who appeal school speed zone camera fines almost guaranteed to lose
#39Now I perhaps understand why the Garmin navigator amusingly warns be about approaching a school zones when it's 11:30 p.m. (way out of school hours) or Sunday (not a school day). Because, USA.
Re: Drivers who appeal school speed zone camera fines almost guaranteed to lose
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you seen modern US schools? They're basically setup like prison yards because of all the school shootings. There's no way the kids are going to run into the street without first going through a parking lot (and, often, a line of bollards). On the bright side, there's zero reason to slow cars down when kids aren't being actively picked up or dropped off. (Not that there was a reason to slow the cars down during o…
I am haven't seen a US school. What about walking? I'm guessing most people use the school bus or get driven then?
One suburban town near me forbids approach on foot or bike. I’ve heard of places where CPS was called about kids walking to school.