School zone

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A speed limit sign entering a school zone, along with a warning light above, in Calabasas, California SchoolZone-SpeedLimitSignAndLight.JPG
A speed limit sign entering a school zone, along with a warning light above, in Calabasas, California
A solar powered school zone sign used in New South Wales, Australia School zone flashing light warning sign.jpg
A solar powered school zone sign used in New South Wales, Australia

A school zone refers to an area on a street near a school or near a crosswalk leading to a school that has a likely presence of younger pedestrians. School zones generally have a reduced speed limit during certain hours.

Contents

Fines

Fines for speeding in school zones may be enhanced. For example, many authorities double speeding fines in school zones. In New South Wales, Australia there are increases in fines that apply in school zones, during school zone times. The most common offences that occur in a school zone also attract demerit points. This includes most parking offences, such as parking on a footpath or nature strip, double parking, disobeying a no stopping or no parking sign and stopping in a bus zone. In the United Kingdom the fine for stopping next to a school is £30.

When active

An Australian school zone sign, covered during school holidays, to denote the use of normal speeds School zone in Canberra.jpg
An Australian school zone sign, covered during school holidays, to denote the use of normal speeds

School zone speed limits are often, but not always, only applicable during posted weekday hours near the beginning and ending of school when children are likely to cross roads. In some jurisdictions, the school zone speed limit is effective at all times when school is in session, plus additional time before and after the school day. Flashing amber lights often indicate when the school zone is effective. When a school zone also has a large playground facility, it may double as a playground zone and the speed limit could be in effect longer  or even continuous. [ citation needed ]

In California, school zones are generally in effect only "when children are outside or crossing the street", [1] and usually have a speed limit of 25 mph, or 40 km/h. School zone signs are sometimes amended with the notice "When children are present" (like shown on the photo), which emphasizes its definition in the drivers' handbook.

School zones may also sometimes be in effect during school holidays, due to holiday programs that use school premises. In some locations, however, school zone signs will be locked up during school holidays so that motorists can drive to the normal speed limit.

School zones typically have speed limits between 15 and 25 mph (25 and 40 km/h).

Overtaking moving or stationary vehicles in active school zones is prohibited in some jurisdictions. [ citation needed ]

Effectiveness

"Slow Down School" sign in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. The safety of school zones depends on the good judgement of motor vehicle operators. Highest Attainment.jpg
"Slow Down School" sign in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. The safety of school zones depends on the good judgement of motor vehicle operators.

In a review of the available research, the Committee for Guidance on Setting and Enforcing Speed Limits of the Transportation Research Board, part of the United States National Research Council, stated:

Studies of the effectiveness of school zone limits, however, have generally found poor driver compliance, particularly when the limits are set very low, and no relationship between pedestrian crashes and the special limits. [2]

In the Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering it was concluded that "the results of this study provide strong evidence that reducing speed limits to 30 km/h in school zones can bring significant safety benefits by reducing vehicular speeds and fatal and injury crashes." [3]

Despite this there has been no conclusive figures on the effectiveness of school zones.

Related Research Articles

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Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed, expressed as kilometres per hour (km/h) or miles per hour (mph) or both. Speed limits are commonly set by the legislative bodies of national or provincial governments and enforced by national or regional police and judicial authorities. Speed limits may also be variable, or in some places nonexistent, such as on most of the Autobahnen in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traffic enforcement camera</span> Camera for detecting motoring offenses

A traffic enforcement camera is a camera which may be mounted beside or over a road or installed in an enforcement vehicle to detect motoring offenses, including speeding, vehicles going through a red traffic light, vehicles going through a toll booth without paying, unauthorized use of a bus lane, or for recording vehicles inside a congestion charge area. It may be linked to an automated ticketing system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traffic calming</span> Road design measures that raise the safety of pedestrians and motorists

Traffic calming uses physical design and other measures to improve safety for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. It has become a tool to combat speeding and other unsafe behaviours of drivers in the neighbourhoods. It aims to encourage safer, more responsible driving and potentially reduce traffic flow. Urban planners and traffic engineers have many strategies for traffic calming, including narrowed roads and speed humps. Such measures are common in Australia and Europe, but less so in North America. Traffic calming is a calque of the German word Verkehrsberuhigung – the term's first published use in English was in 1985 by Carmen Hass-Klau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speed bump</span> Traffic calming device

Speed bumps are a class of traffic calming devices that use vertical deflection to slow motor-vehicle traffic in order to improve safety conditions. Variations include the speed hump, speed cushion, and speed table.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaywalking</span> Pedestrian crossing of a carriageway outside of a crosswalk

Jaywalking is the act of pedestrians walking in or crossing a roadway if that act contravenes traffic regulations. The term originated in the United States as a derivation of the phrase jay-drivers, people who drove horse-drawn carriages and automobiles on the wrong side of the road, before taking its current meaning. Jaywalking was coined as the automobile arrived in the street in the context of the conflict between pedestrian and automobiles, more specifically the nascent automobile industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moving violation</span> Violation of the law committed by the driver of a vehicle while it is in motion

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traffic ticket</span> Type of notice issued by a law enforcement official

A traffic ticket is a notice issued by a law enforcement official to a motorist or other road user, indicating that the user has violated traffic laws. Traffic tickets generally come in two forms, citing a moving violation, such as exceeding the speed limit, or a non-moving violation, such as a parking violation, with the ticket also being referred to as a parking citation, or parking ticket.

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Many countries have adopted a penalty point or demerit point system under which a person’s driving license is revoked or suspended based on the number of points they’ve accumulated over a specific period of time, points are given for traffic offenses or infringements committed by them in that period. The demerit points schemes of each jurisdiction varies. These demerit schemes are usually in addition to fines or other penalties which may be imposed for a particular offence or infringement, or after a prescribed number of points have been accumulated.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road signs in Norway</span> Overview of road signs in Norway

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advisory speed limit</span> Speed recommendation by a governing body

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road signs in the United States</span> Road and traffic signs utilized in the United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speed limit enforcement</span> Effort made by appropriately empowered authorities to improve driver compliance with speed limits

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road speed limits in the United Kingdom</span>

Road speed limits in the United Kingdom are used to define the maximum legal speed for vehicles using public roads in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road speed limit enforcement in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of the road speed limit enforcement in the United Kingdom

Road speed limit enforcement in the United Kingdom is the action taken by appropriately empowered authorities to attempt to persuade road vehicle users to comply with the speed limits in force on the UK's roads. Methods used include those for detection and prosecution of contraventions such as roadside fixed speed cameras, average speed cameras, and police-operated LIDAR speed guns or older radar speed guns. Vehicle activated signs and Community Speed Watch schemes are used to encourage compliance. Some classes of vehicles are fitted with speed limiters and intelligent speed adaptation is being trialled in some places on a voluntary basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road signs in New Zealand</span> Overview of road signs in New Zealand

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road signs in Australia</span> Overview of road signs in Australia

Road signs in Australia are regulated by each state's government, but are standardised overall throughout the country. In 1999, the National Transport Commission, or NTC, created the first set of Rules of the Road for Australia. Official road signs by standard must use the AS1744 series fonts, based on the US' Highway Gothic typeface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road signs in France</span> Overview of road signs in France

Road signs in France refer to all conventional signals installed on French roads and intended to ensure the safety of road users, either by informing them of the dangers and regulations relating to traffic as well as elements useful for decision-making, or by indicating to them the landmarks and equipment useful for their travel on the national territory. They generally largely follow the general European conventions concerning the use of shape and color to indicate their function. France is a signatory to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. France signed the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals on 8 November 1968 and ratified it on 9 December 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road signs in Lithuania</span>

Road signs in Lithuania ensure that transport vehicles move safely and orderly, as well as to inform the participants of traffic built-in graphic icons. These icons are governed by the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic and Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.

References

  1. California Drivers Handbook (section "Around Children")
  2. National Research Council (U.S.). Transportation Research Board. Committee for Guidance on Setting and Enforcing Speed Limits (1998). Managing Speed: Review of Current Practice for Setting and Enforcing Speed Limits (PDF). p. 115. ISBN   0-309-06502-X.
  3. Sun, Danyang; El-Basyouny, Karim; Ibrahim, Shewkar; Kim, Amy M. (2018-07-06). "Are school zones effective in reducing speeds and improving safety?". Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering. 45 (12): 1084–1092. doi:10.1139/cjce-2018-0060. hdl: 1807/92497 . ISSN   0315-1468. S2CID   117609025.