It’s the same every year for Denver police this time of year. Drivers are constantly being pulled over for traffic violations involving exceeding the speed limit for school zones. “We don’t give warnings in school zones,” said one police officer. “We have a zero tolerance policy.”
The fines for exceeding such a speed limit are doubled when it comes to school zones. A single ticket can be as much as $300.00, and as many as 500 traffic violation citations were issued in Denver school zones during the first week of the school year.
Obviously, no one would encourage drivers to speed through school zones, and there’s a reason why Colorado has such laws in place. However, many drivers are confused by the rules regulating such speed zones and may not even be aware that they are considered to be in violation of the law. Such speed zones may not be adequately marked, or drivers may not be aware they are in a school zone as no children are present.
Attorneys used to hearing cases in traffic court understand how such cases are tried. Though such drivers do not always get off without a fine, sometimes penalties are reduced because an explanation is provided to the court as to the circumstances of the individual offense.
For various reasons, drivers may not want such a violation on their driving record. Besides the cost of the fine, such a violation may lead to increased insurance rates or, in some instances, lead to the suspension of the driver’s license.
Source: 9 News, “Speeders ‘forget’ school zones,” by TaRhonda Thomas, September 5, 2012