Road Rants: Speeding in school zones can be deadly

For nine months out of the year, school is in session and that means school speed zones are in effect.

As part of our Road Rants series, NewsChannel 21 has a special report on the risks, rules and rule-breakers inside our Central Oregon school speed zones.

Using a radar gun, it wasn’t tough to find drivers going over the 20 mph limit. Some were just a few miles over at 21, 22 or 23 mph. Others were nearly 20 miles over, at 37 or 38 mph.

Megan Williamson has been a crossing guard at Ponderosa Elementary since last fall.

“You know, there’s a lot of people that just fly by,” Williams said. “Feels like sometimes they’re maybe distracted — and then they’ll see me, and be like, ‘Oh I’m in a school zone!’ and slow down really fast, like they forget.”

But forgetting can be deadly. At 20 mph, 5 percent of people hit by a car would be killed. At 30 mph, that percentage jumps to 45 percent. And at 40 mph, there’s a 95 percent chance that a vehicle-vs.pedestrian accident would be fatal.

That makes the school zone’s 20 mph speed limit an important number to remember. But not everyone knows it, including the students.

“I don’t really drive yet. It’s 20? Oh yeah, people are not going 20!”

Across the street from Bend International School on O.B. Riley Road, NewsChannel 21 spotted numerous cars going over 20 mph.

One car was going 37 mph in the school zone, which is in effect from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. all the while, children are playing nearby.

And that makes parents nervous, including Scott Swenson, a father of two.

“It’s dangerous.” he said. “You know, these kids are not always paying attention. I have seen a couple kids run out after a ball. And these drivers could definitely cause some damage, because they’re not going the limit — they don’t have time to stop.”

So what happens if you’re caught speeding in a school zone?

In Bend, unless there are signs stating that fines will be enhanced, police officers can only write tickets for normal fines. That means a $110 ticket for going 10 miles over on the Parkway remains $110 if you’re going 10 miles over in front of a school.

“I think it’s overlooked,” Swenson said “But the signs are pretty clear, and that’s the bottom line. I have no problem with the police giving extra enforcement and tickets for people speeding in these zones.”

In Redmond, officers are allowed significant discretion in whether a speeding violation is doubled in a school zone. There is no internal policy governing the practice, we’re told, so your school zone ticket just might be higher.

Because the simple act of slowing down will have everyone grateful for it.