Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | PTCs Brown pushes radar cameras in school zonesBy LEE WILLIAMS A speed camera just might take your picture and mail you a traffic ticket as part of an effort to reduce speed in school zones. The item, HB 294, is working its way through the legislative process, but officials are hopeful the measure would endure any resistance. We dont expect any real problems getting the bill passed at this point, Brown said. He added that hes not sure whether the speed cameras will be necessary in Peachtree City, but other areas around Atlanta have had problems with people using school zones as shortcuts on their morning commutes without taking appropriate precautions. The bill caps the maximum fine at $70 and none of the citations issued by the cameras can count against a drivers license points or insurance rating. Also, the cameras can only operate one hour before school, during school and one hour after school. It will do what we want it to do, and thats get people to slow down in school safety zones, Brown said. Many police agencies dont have the manpower to patrol school zones for speeders, as they are responding to drive-time auto accidents and other incidents, Brown noted. Currently, the 25 mph speed zone is enforced before and after school only during a special time frame set for each school, said Peachtree City Police Chief James Murray. At any other time, the roads regular speed limit applies and can be enforced, Murray noted. HB 294 does not seek to extend the special 25 mph zone for the entire length of the school day. The current law allows officers to write tickets for those speeding even just one mile an hour over the limit during the established school zone hours, Murray noted. Peachtree City officers generally dont write school zone speeding tickets unless the vehicle is about 10 mph over the school zone limit, except in some special circumstances, the chief added. Part of the reasoning for that is some vehicles speedometers may be off a tad, Murray noted. Brown and Sally Flocks, president and CEO of the pedestrian advocacy groups PEDS in Atlanta, are working to bring the speed cameras to fruition, through the help of Rep. Phyllis Miller, R-Snellville, who sponsored HB 294. Brown testified before the House Public Safety Committee in favor of HB 294 that Miller introduced. The bill unanimously passed through the committee. Brown pointed out the bill was created with restrictions to ensure the focus wasnt on generating revenue for cities and counties. School zones can be hazardous even though the city supplies crossing guards at strategic locations near Peachtree City schools, officials report. I have traveled through some of our school zones in the early morning hours before sunrise and I can barely see the children walking along the street, Brown said. Visibility is much worse when it is raining to the point where you cant see the kids until you almost pass by them. Flocks set up a school zone demonstration project at Morningside Elementary School in Atlanta. The results showed 917 automobiles were going at least 11 mph above the posted speed limit. Of those automobiles speeding, 260 of them were traveling at 40 mph or faster. Flocks produced government safety statistics that showed a pedestrian has a 5 percent chance of being killed if struck by a car at 20 mph. However, if struck at 40 mph, the odds of being killed escalate to 85 percent, officials said. |
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