Speeding through School Zones
By: Marchelle McConnell
Updated: February 23, 2010
A six year old boy is now in serious condition after he darted in front of a car at Fairfield Elementary. This is just one of many incidents involving cars and pedestrians in school zones.
FOX Fort Wayne was told that drivers tend to speed through the school zone at Indiana Village Elementary. The posted limit is 25 miles per hour. FOX Fort Wayne’s Marchelle McConnell used a radar gun to see how fast people were driving. She found drivers speeding 5, 10 even 15 miles over the speed limit.
Not a single car drove at or under the speed limit. We even clocked a Fort Wayne Community School bus going 30 miles per hour.
Reaction time is crucial when a kid runs in front of a car. One second can mean the difference in hitting or missing the child. Tony Maze, a Lieutenant for the Fort Wayne Police Department, says “Under normal circumstances or ideal conditions, someone doing 30 mph, as soon as they recognize the hazard and they slam on their brakes it's going to take them about 40 feet to get stopped.”
There are hefty fines for speeding in a school zone. A ticket can cost anywhere $116 to $209. The judge can bump that fine up as high as $500. Fort Wayne police say worse than the fine, is the emotional baggage that comes with running into a child.
