School zone signage

[stephenv]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?Colorado
I recently got a ticket in commerce city by an elementary school. I usually drive through here at 6:00 AM but this morning I had a late shift and decided to drive rather than take the bus as I normally do. At any rate it is a 20 mph zone that goes by the right hand side of the school, it is ALWAYS this speed limit on this stretch of rode and I always drive the speed limit there. When I get to the front part of the school,at the end of this stretch of rode, I take a right, moving away from the street and the school. There is a sign that says 30 mph and also an "end school zone" sign in the same vicinity. Well I got tagged with a driving 30 in a 20 mph zone. The officer even mentioned that I should have seen the flashing lights. The point is, where I turned from, there was no flashing light, furthermore there was no sign telling me speed limits at certain times, there definitely were no children present. It was about 8:50 in the morning. After getting the ticket I turned around so I could understand what had just happened. Now heading toward the school, there was a flashing 20 mph school zone sign about 200 feet before where I turned out. Furthermore it had one flashing yellow light on the reverse side of the sign (the reverse side had no markings and would have been on the left had side of the rode when I took the turn) so my questions are:

1) Am I supposed to be watching for blank signs blinking on the left hand side of the rode? Am I as a driver supposed to know what this means?

2) If the speed limit is posted 30 mph and there is no sign indicating "school zone times" am I liable?

A police officer I talked to said I should definitely talk to the judge about it, that I had a 50/50 chance of getting someone nice.

******************************************blinky light
. ________**************...|****************************......|
. |SCHOOL|**************..|****************************......|
..___________.... |****************************.....|
.----20mph--->>>>-|**************..|**************..|
.___ _______......|**************..|**************..|
********************************************************|**************..|**************..|
********************************************************|**************..V**************..|
********************************************************|**************..|**************..|
********************************************************|**************..|**************..|
********************************************************|**************..|**************..|
******************************************.30mph......V**************..|
******************************************.. sign|****************************.....|
********************************************************|**************..|**************..|
********************************************************|**************..|**************..|
********************************************************|**************..|**************..|
****************************.....end....|**************..|**************.Blinky
****************************.. school..|**************..|**************..light
****************************....Zone...|**************..V**************..|
******************************************......|******************************************|

[JETX]

Originally Posted by stephenv

1) Am I supposed to be watching for blank signs blinking on the left hand side of the rode? Am I as a driver supposed to know what this means?

Yes. You are obligated to read and understand ALL traffic signs that apply to your direction of travel.... no matter what side of the street.

2) If the speed limit is posted 30 mph and there is no sign indicating "school zone times" am I liable?

No. However, without actually SEEING the situation no one can answer as to whether that is truly the circumstance in this case or not.

Your ONLY option if you want to try to fight it is to videotape (best) or photograph the road and present your case to the court.

[Robbie0723]

What color are the signs and do the signs say "Speed Limit"?

School zones and signs are sometimes incorrectly marked (regulatory vs. advisory), check it out relative to the regulations in your state.

[JETX]

Originally Posted by Robbie0723

What color are the signs and do the signs say "Speed Limit"?

School zones and signs are sometimes incorrectly marked (regulatory vs. advisory), check it out relative to the regulations in your state.

What a bunch of crap!!!

[stephenv]

What a bunch of crap!!!

thats what I thought when I first read it

[aalfaro]

I would definately take pictures or video of the area at the same time of day and present this. I would plead not guilty and take it to court. If your state offers trial by jury, request a jury trial.

[sukharev]

Check out MUTCD, and whether the sign was properly posted. I am not sure but speed limit should be posted within a reasonable distance from intersection. Also, check is school zone falls under same guideline.