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I was recently ticketed for doing 57 km/h and requested a photo as I was adamant I was not speeding. In the photo there were two other cars.

In addition to this I called the NZ Police who stated I received the ticket because I was in a school zone. There was no school zone that I was aware of, nothing, no signs, zilch.

There was a school down the road and around a corner however this was impossible to see or know about.

Don’t get me wrong if I was speeding in a school zone, fair enough. However, if this is a school zone then why no warning signs?

Is it not about promoting awareness?

Martin

From the "Ask Jack" archives - 23 June 2010

Thanks for your comments Martin. You may not be aware that the police speed tolerance in school zones is 4km/h, whereas the usual tolerance is 10km/h. This could explain why you received a ticket at 57km/h, although to confuse matters the tolerance for speed cameras is based on the 85th percentile principle, which is to say only the fastest 15% of motorists are ticketed (provided they are over the posted limit, but irrespective of how much).

The AA supports the lower tolerance around schools in the interests of safety, but as part of our support we also want mandatory ‘school’ signs placed 250m either side of every school, because this is the distance at which police are enforcing school zone speeds. Currently, it is only mandatory to display a school sign on the approach to a school if it is situated on a State Highway (and then only placed 160m either side of the school). The same regulations recommend placing signs 65m either side of a school in a 50km/h zone – but this is not mandatory.

The AA believes it is unfair to police 250m from a school, when there is no requirement for signage at this distance, hence our desire for the mandatory display of signs.

Indeed, the AA is calling for a 40km/h speed limit during the hours when children are being dropped off and picked up, supported by flashing variable speed limit signs. The AA has asked that the revenue generated from speed enforcement around schools be used to fund the installation of these signs and static ‘school’ signs at every school so that motorists know they are in a zone and don’t experience the frustration you have.

The AA has raised this with the current Minister of Police, as well as the last Minister under the Labour administration, but so far there has been no commitment to dedicate what now amounts to over $30m in revenue to actually improving safety around schools through better signage which will generate more compliance than enforcement alone, and the AA will continue to campaign for this.

Regarding the ticket itself, other vehicles in close proximity can affect the reading of the speed camera. If you believe this may have happened in your case, you should write to infringement bureau and dispute the fine on that basis.