School is in session, and in Denver, morning commuters are seeing many yellow school buses on the roads and children walking to their schools. On top of that, many encounter school zone signs requiring vehicles to slow down to 20 MPH while going through a school zone. Many Colorado drivers view the school zone signs as a bit of an inconvenience, but they really do serve a purpose: to keep children safe as they travel to and from school.
Denver’s Revised Municipal Code states that any citations for traffic violations issued in an area designated by signs to be a school zone from 6AM to 9PM will result in the doubling of normal fines. This applies every day of the year. This means that if, between the hours of 6 AM and 9PM, a driver receives a traffic citation for exceeding the normal speed limit by 10 mph within a Safety or School Zone marked by signs during the hours, the fine for that offense is double what it would have been elsewhere.
This is separate from the traffic regulations mandating a reduced speed limit of 20 mph in elementary school areas. That rule only applies when school is in session and only during those hours displayed on the 20 mph speed limit sign. It is only during those hours on the sign and only on days when school is in session that a driver could get a ticket for going 30 MPH (10 mph over the reduced speed limit of 20 mph). However, the driver will still be subject to a double fine, just as with any other traffic violation issued between the hours of 6 AM and 9PM.
The fines for violating school and safety zone speed limits can be hefty. In Colorado, automated enforcement techniques (where a camera takes a picture of the vehicle’s tags and its driver) are permitted to capture traffic violations. For school zones, the traditional enforcement penalties are $151 (including surcharge) and four points on the driver’s license. With automated enforcement, the penalty is $80 in school zones.
The City of Denver, Colorado reports that it has over 180 school zones. About 135 are elementary schools and thus have special school zone signs with speed limit reductions. Thirty-six of those schools have signs with flashers because they are located near busier streets. So how effective are the signs? With or without flashing lights, they hopefully slow down enough people to enhance school students’ safety, but too many people do not slow down enough, or even fail to slow down at all. Drivers need to consider not only the increased fines for speeding in a school zone, but also the potential tragedy of a child being hit and injured by a car in a school zone. Saving a minute of time is just not worth the risk.
