Crime & Safety
School Zone Speed Limit Sign Brought Confusion - and a Ticket
One High Ridge motorist says the sign in front of North Jefferson Intermediate School is ambiguous.
John Bender knows he was speeding.
He was cruising along at about 48 mph on Gravois Road, where the posted speed limit is 45 mph, when he was stopped by a deputy from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department in front of North Jefferson Intermediate School, 2109 Gravois Rd., High Ridge.
Bender was surprised, and a little irritated, when the deputy gave him a speeding ticket for going 48 mph in a 20 mph school zone, a speed limit clearly posted on the school zone sign.
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It's the added disclaimer on the school zone sign that tripped up Bender. Beneath the school zone speed limit is another sign that reads "On school days when children are present." Since it was 10 a.m. on a school day, Bender maintains children weren't present -- they were in class.
"I took that to mean, 'when children are actually present' like in the mornings or afternoons when they are entering or leaving the school and I can see them near the road," he said in an E-mail. "I got my ticket at 10 a.m. and no one was present, only me and the radar guy."
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The "radar guy" didn't see it Bender's way, however. With a speeding ticket at 28 miles over the posted limit, Bender faces a potentially stiff fine, points on his driver's license and higher auto insurance premiums -- or a legal fee to an attorney to have the fine reduced, which also could be costly.
Part of the Jefferson County traffic code that defines a school zones reads as follows: "All special speed limits for school zones shall be in effect on school days when children are present on school grounds for school activities. (italics added) The term 'when children are present' shall also include times before and after the activities are specifically scheduled, to include the times that children may be arriving or leaving the school grounds."
Ambiguous? The sheriff's department doesn't think so.
"When school is in session the school zone is in effect," said a departent spokesman. "It doesn't mean that children have to be visible. As long as they are in the building it's a school zone."
Bender just thinks the school zone sign ought to be more clear.
"It seems to me that if the authors meant, 'when children are in the building' it would have been enough for the sign to read, '20 mph on school days,'” Bender said. "When they added the qualifier, 'when children are present' it became confusing and up for interpretation."
Although it's irritating and receiving a ticket never is an enjoyable experience, Bender says he'll address the ticket issue and move on.
"I'm not interested in becoming a martyr or in saving society from one stupid sign," Bender said. "I now realize the intent of the law is to have me slow down when children are in the school building. My only complaint is the sign. I still find it misleading"
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