School zone confusion clears speeding charges
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 4, 2009 | 11:01 AM AT
CBC News
Oromocto, N.B., has been forced to change school zone traffic signs after six people successfully evaded speeding charges by arguing the signs were too vague.
On Monday, one driver argued in provincial court that although he was speeding, the school zone sign indicated the lower 30 km/h speed limit was in effect "when children present."
He said when he was driving there were no children on the road.
Judge Patricia Cumming agreed the sign's wording made it difficult to determine if the law was broken.
The ruling meant six speeding tickets amounting to $3,000 in fines did not have to be paid.
In nearby Fredericton, the school zone traffic signs list the hours that the lower speed limit applies. Fredericton changed its signs from the "when children present" wording many years ago.
A speeding ticket in an Oromocto school zone costs drivers $340, and the penalty almost doubles if the driver is more than 25 km/h over the speed limit.
The town is now replacing 38 signs to close the loophole found by the drivers.
Loophole is 'nonsense'
Oromocto Mayor Fay Tidd called the loophole that cleared the six drivers of speeding tickets "nonsense."
Tidd said the signs have been around for more than 20 years and that they went up to protect the town's children.
"This area of town has children all hours," Tidd said.
"When there's daylight, they're running back and forth from one playground to another, they're going back and forth to the track, they're taking part in activities when they get off the bus in the morning and before they get on the bus to go home."
RCMP Sgt. Pierre Gervais said the new wording on the Oromocto traffic signs is clear and there is a chance that speeding tickets will be reissued to some of the drivers who got off on the sign technicality.
"The law is still [for an] urban street is 50 kilometres an hour and we're planning to reissue the ticket to anybody who was above 50 [km/h]," Gervais said.
