Stopping at a School Crossing

[Tivoli]

I live in Arizona, and this was my moving violation:

ARS 28-797 G.
When a school authority places and maintains the required portable "school in session" signs and "stop when children are in crosswalk" signs,
all vehicles shall come to a complete stop
at the school crossing
when the crosswalk is occupied by a person.

I was at a T-intersection and I had no stop or “wait here” line for my vehicle like the other two roads did. I stopped for the children that were crossing in the crosswalk on the opposite side of the road (i.e., not immediately in front of me) and then they reached the sidewalk. There were no more children in that crosswalk, but the crossing guard remained in the middle of the street. In the other crosswalk to my left, adults and children were in motion but had not reached the corner yet, and the guard’s attention was on them from where she stood, and she was not making eye contact with approaching traffic (me). I got the impression that the crossguard remains in the street all the time regardless of whether children are in her crosswalk or not, and the street sign clearly reads, “stop when children are in crosswalk,” and there were no more children in the crosswalk before me, so I thought it was safe to go because it felt like I was stopped in the middle of the street without a painted line for my stop point.

The switcheroo in the Arizona statute is that after stating “stop when children are in the crosswalk, the statute ends by changing that to “a person,” which undoubtedly means the “crossing guard” whether she has children in her crosswalk or not. In addition, this “person” was motionless, so she couldn’t be categorized as a “pedestrian” in the crosswalk, and it was her lack of moving that also made me think it was okay for me to cross at that point. In my opinion, from what I have read regarding crossguard guidelines, she should have walked back to the corner while waiting for the next group of children to reach that corner, rather than still stand in the middle of the street with no children in her crosswalk, while not making eye contact with approaching traffic.

Can I get any advice on winning this in court? Also, is this one of those moving violations that, if the police officer doesn't show up on my assigned court appearance date, the ticket is dismissed? I know that to be the case with speeding tickets in California, but I'm not sure about this one in Arizona.

[I_Got_Banned]

Did the crossing guard have her hand raised up with a big red STOP sign at the end of it?

[mommyof4]

ARS 28-797 G.
When a school authority places and maintains the required portable "school in session" signs and "stop when children are in crosswalk" signs,all vehicles shall come to a complete stop at the school crossing when the crosswalk is occupied by a person.

The statute clearly states that if a person is in the crosswalk, all cars must come to a complete stop.

So....that part of your complaint is addressed.

The next question...did you come to a complete stop?

[Tivoli]

Originally Posted by mommyof4

The statute clearly states that if a person is in the crosswalk, all cars must come to a complete stop.

So....that part of your complaint is addressed.

The next question...did you come to a complete stop?

Yes, I came to a complete stop and waited for the children to safely reach the sidewalk. As far as the other question about holding a stop paddle, when the children were crossing the street in front of me, she was clearly alert to that activity and holding the paddle high. Then after the children reached the sidewalk, she lowered her guard, turned her attention to the children and adults that were crossing at the other crosswalk (not in front of me; off to the left at a T-intersection), and to the best of my recollection, the paddle was substantially lowered in a weak hold, but still upward.

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by Tivoli

Yes, I came to a complete stop and waited for the children to safely reach the sidewalk. As far as the other question about holding a stop paddle, when the children were crossing the street in front of me, she was clearly alert to that activity and holding the paddle high. Then after the children reached the sidewalk, she lowered her guard, turned her attention to the children and adults that were crossing at the other crosswalk (not in front of me; off to the left at a T-intersection), and to the best of my recollection, the paddle was substantially lowered in a weak hold, but still upward.

As was mentioned earlier: The statute clearly states that if a person is in the crosswalk, all cars must come to a complete stop.