Teaching School Zone Safety

Question: In California, the speed limit in a school zone is 25 mph when children are present. But I've observed many drivers who completely ignore the limits. When I follow the law and slow down as I approach schools, I'm tailgated and passed by reckless and thoughtless drivers. It's very dangerous. Are drivers allowed to determine on their own whether to slow down near schools?

Barb Ketcham

Malibu

Answer: Under the law, drivers must obey the 25-mph speed limit in a school zone if there are children--18 years or younger--nearby. The law applies whenever schoolchildren are arriving or departing. If they are standing in front of the school, waiting on corners or walking along sidewalks, drivers must reduce speeds to 25 mph, law enforcement officers said.

Drivers must comply with the law whether they're driving through a high school or an elementary school zone.

It's also important for drivers to understand that under the law(California Vehicle Code, section 467), a pedestrian is anyone who is walking or using a "human-powered device" such as a skateboard, wheelchair or roller skates.

Bicyclists are not considered pedestrians, but drivers still must use caution, especially when children are riding in bike lanes.

In a recent survey conducted by the California Institute of Transportation Safety at San Diego State University, school crossing guards from Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Francisco counties reported that only 25% of motorists obeyed the 25-mph speed limit around schools when children were present.

Parents often are the offenders, said Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis P. Zine, a former sergeant in the LAPD traffic division and now a reserve officer. Anyone who drives kids to school or drives past a school as students are arriving or departing knows what chaos occurs.

Lines of vehicles clog surrounding streets. Harried parents double-park and let their children dash out into the street between cars. Some parents stop in the middle of the street to pick up children, or speed dangerously through intersections and around corners to get their children to school before the bell rings.

Teen drivers who roar out of school parking lots and "show off their fast cars" also pose a danger, Zine said.

"It's insanity," said Long Beach Police Sgt. Rich Meyer, adding that his department and other law enforcement agencies are taking an aggressive approach to protecting pedestrians and enforcing the law.