A school zone sign on Elm Street near Memorial Middle School, photographed in April 2021.
Now that speed cameras have begun watching drivers in an Albany school zone, a question that came up four years ago needs to be asked again: “What exactly qualifies as a school day?”
If you missed it, here’s a reader’s comment from a few days ago:
“I received a $265 ticket for going 42 mph through the North Albany intersection on a day when there was no school at the elementary. I don’t know if there was school that day at the middle school. With no blinking light during school hours, how are people, without kids at both schools, supposed to know when school is in session? It doesn’t seem reasonable to enforce 2 different speed limits when the driver has no way of knowing at any given time what the speed limit is.”
OK, strictly speaking that was 2 mph above the normal speed limit, but the camera should not have gone off at all if it was not a school day. (The cameras enforce speeding of 11 mph or faster above whichever limit is in effect at the time, either 20 mph on “school days” or 40 mph at other times.)
The current Oregon school zone law was passed in 2005, when the legislature adopted HB 2840. It describes when a person breaks the law by driving faster than 20 mph in a school zone:
“If the school zone does not have a flashing light used as a traffic control device, the person drives in the school zone between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. on a day when school is in session.”
How can drivers tell when school is “in session?” And what does “in session” mean? The law doesn’t say.
In April 2021, Albany children started attending class again after the public schools’ long Covid shutdown. But not on Wednesdays. So Wednesdays did not count as school days or traffic enforcement because no children were scheduled to be in class.
Even now, Albany schools are not “in session” on many weekdays during the normal school year.
Albany now has speed cameras in one school zone on North Albany Road and will have them in near Memorial and West later this year. But only on North Albany is there a 20 mph difference between the regular and school zone limit.
On the question of when school is in session, Police Chief Marcia Harden said in an email that teacher in-service days “don’t necessarily mean kids are not present.” And in the case that got the commenter a $265 ticket near the two schools on North Albany Road, one school had a teacher in-service and the other had school in session.
Harnden added: “We can post the schedule for school days on our FAQ site. As far as the flashing light, we can evaluate using one once we understand the driving behavior. The golden rule is, if in doubt, slow to 20 during the listed times.”
“Golden rule” or not, for the city to justify tickets and stiff fines, drivers must be told exactly what days the lower speed limit is in effect and when it’s not. (hh)
The author’s biggest Tell in this screed is the amount of “Privilege” he struts out onto the stage…without even blinking. The basis of Hering’s long held and well-known thinking on this matter is that somehow the 15-seconds he might save were it only made known to him as to what days are schools in session, thereby allowing him to blow through school zones mindless of any possible bad outcomes. Perhaps a Messenger Service could hand deliver a Daily Report on School Speed Zones.
The Privileged cannot be bothered to bear the tiniest inconvenience, even if it means that some humility might save a child’s life. When you’re privileged, the schlubs of this world become invisible.
The sign should just be updated to M-F if that’s the case right? Or maybe even every day because kids could be crossing on the weekends too could they not?
As it stands the current verbiage is vague thats the problem. Someone going 40 in a 40 when there are no kids, visible or not, has no safety concern.
And you can’t count on the school message signs either, unless you can read Spanish.
It’s Spanish on one side, and English on the other. This is much like printed material these days. All you have to do is momentarily look at it from someone else’s perspective.
So that’s great….. in one direction.
As many of your readers have stated as well when it comes to traffic cameras, it has absolutely nothing to do with safety. It’s about raising revenue.
Agree!
It’s pretty simple really…from the third week of August through the second week of June, excepting federal/state holidays and weekends…I just assume that school is in session and slow down. The distance is time between 2omph and 40mph for a few blocks is around 30 seconds or so and if you can’t deal with that, then you shouldn’t be driving. Seriously…get off your butts and manage your time better.
Agreed and thanks for just saying it! Sheesh!
“we can evaluate using one after understanding driver behavior” what on earth does that mean?? The money that’s being wasted on the traffic cameras should have been put into The flashing lights. Does flashing lights would generate more safety on the roadways than those traffic cameras generate money and that’s probably why we won’t have them
Most school zone flashing signs are pre-programmed to activate automatically during specific days and times.
Again, it’s automatic.
Failure to use the lights because driving behavior must first be analyzed is simply that – a failure.
Shame on APD.
The ticket would hurt, but the impact on the car insurance is even worse. A a ticket for 20 mph over the speed limit in a school zone could even get some people’s insurance cancelled.
I will just drive 20 mph 7 to 5 (and make drivers behind me mad) except for spring break, winter break and summer vacation.
Just always drive 20 mph even when someone is just a few feet off your rear bumper trying to push you to a higher speed, I rather deal with the road rage than the ticket. I have seen the light go off at least 8 or 9 times now, that’s just the times I have been through it, one person hit it around 35 on a school day and that thing flashed right in their front windshield. Reality is they’re not rural farm roads any longer, you’re driving by people’s homes and a lot of these subdivisions are built on the principle of a cluster development. I think it has for sure calmed traffic in N. Albany.
When in doubt, do the posted speed.
During extreme hot/cold temperatures, one could make a case that the operating temperature range is out of specification. “The Prosecution” would have to provide specifications in Discovery if requested. You could probably subpoena witnesses from the parent company. What a can or worms you could weave.
How about change the speed to 20 on all days.
When the sign at the elementary school says “no school today” as it did on Good Friday, a reasonable person would believe that applies to all Albany schools. I knew between APD and GAPS this would dysfunction.