School zones

[Airzone]

I was just driving down Pennant Hills road the other night when I was driving through a school zone... And there it was - a variable speed limit fixed camera, with no speed limit posted. So it must be attached to the school zone I thought. And that really sux! I have no kids, I don't know when it's a school day or not. By the time I see the sign and try to work out if I should be slowing down or not, I'm already out the other side. Now, while I have no problem with speed zones for primary schools (IMHO if a high school student hasn't learnd road sense, then they almost deserve to be hit), the signage they have is really poor. I hear of other states that have flashing lights on their signs (similar to school busses) to indicate when you should be doing 40, but here if the driver doesn't have kids of their own, how should they know? I suppose it's a fair guess to slow down when ever you see kids, but you don't always see them because the speed zones start well before school goes in, and for quite a bit after classes start.

Anyway, responsible parents should be teaching their kids road safety well before they go to school. And school should suppliment it. If I every have kids one day, sure as shit in a cat, there's not a chance I'll be relying on *anyone* but me to teach them road safety. I know all too well about these evil import car owners who counstantly flout the law with their irresponsible speeds and defective cars But damn, if a parent hasn't got the time or effort to teach their sprouts that cars are fast and hard and travel on "roads", then do they teach their kids that knives are sharp, and fire is hot?

[franks]

theres another one of these on the princess hwy near rockdale i believe...a friend was telling me it goes from 70km/h to a 40km/h zone and that camera is very active!

revenue raising or wot, there was an overhead walkway built specifically for the skoolkids to cross the hwy a few metres before the camera. but i guess were doin it for the children of tomorrow

[dishgirl]

Yeah, if kids are going to cross a six lane highway when there's a bridge then there's something wrong with them...

The one at Princes Hwy is 60 to 40, i think... then again, I have no idea of the speed limit on that road between Carss Park and Tempe

[T0nyGTSt]

To place a camera where there is a designated student bridge/walkway is rather rich.

I would think that using kids and school zones (which is legit) to indirectly raise revenue tends to smack of some hipocracy does it not?

T.

[RAIDER]

dont you mean the new camera on carlingford road

thats a variable speed camera and a red light camera

are these the ones that can get both ways?

[red900ss]

I have no problem with speed cameras outside schools. If it saves one kid then it's worth it.

Remember these are little individuals who don't always know or think about what's goping on around them.

Typical thought process: "there goes ball, must get ball..."

now speed cameras on multilane roads and freeways and Spit Hill is another matter all together...

[Darky]

School Zones operate Mon to Fri

AM: 8am - 9:30am

PM: 2:30pm - 4pm

I pass through 4 school zones on the way to work, and usually during both those hours so I have to be careful cuz there's usually a cop car parked with a camera going :-/

[v_s_p_e_c]

they normally have signs indicating the time of day that the limits are in force

[Mr. Oizo]

Darky is right..

depending on the time.. the speed limit wll vary

[Moanie]

Hey Airzone...where on Pennant Hills rd is this?!?! I use Penno rds allllll the time!

[Airzone]

Hi Moanie - I can't remember. It was my first ever drive along that road. Anyway, I was heading towards Paramatta and it was quite a bit past the Kings School. Lol! That probably narrows it down to half of the road :-P

[ultim8DTM5]

I wonder if you could argue the case with it flashing you at 8.05am, because I doubt they run off Atomic Clocks.

[IvanINC]

some kids arent as s2pid as dis

"Typical thought process: 'there goes ball, must get ball...'" and actually i dont beleive ne kid crosses a 4 lane road or wateva.. and also i see lik these massive walls built around the skools close to highways n such of those big roads and another theres a crossing light newayz?? and theres red lights and greenlights??

[Airzone]

Well, myself as a kid never thought that - it was simply a case of "that's a road and I'm not supposed to go onto a road for any reason unless an adult helps me". Anyway, I'm here alive now without the aid of speed zones. Anyway, I have no problems with the zones themselves (providing they're for primary schools, not high schools), but they really need to put more adequate signage up. I like the idea (from QLD I think...) of having flashing lights similar to those on busses.

[GoldZilla]

Moanie, Airzone:

I think the one you're both talking about is the one in North Parramatta, as far as I know that's the only one on Pennant Hills Rd until you get a lot closer to (or past) Pennant Hills.

Raider:

The one on Carlingford Rd near Epping West Primary school is a bit annoying because I'm usually accelerating away from the (almost always red) lights or trying to maintain speed so I don't have to drop down a gear. It also doesn't help that they don't actually tell you what the regular (out of school hours) speed limit is, and the limit changes a few times between Carlingford and Epping.

Don't you all think that if they're gonna have variable speed limit cameras, then they should have the variable speed road signs so you don't have to wonder what speed you should be trying to maintain at that particular time of day? Looking away from the road to check the time on your watch or dashboard is the last thing you should have to do when you're in the vicinity of unpredictable kids.

I think it's kinda strange that they have those variable signs on the two places where you'd never really expect to have them - along the M2 and M4. I've never ever seen the signs change on these two stretches, regardless of the weather and/or traffic conditions I've been travelling through on them.

Oh yeah, they had those "You're travelling at ?? km/h" signs out the front of three schools in my area on a trial basis. They display your instantaneous speed, which is a great idea. There was only three things wrong with this:

1. They only faced one way and therefore only read about half of the traffic travelling past them;

2. They only had them there for about two weeks (I'm sure about 95% of the people who drive through there would have already forgotten they were there in the first place); and

3. The road is (to this day) in a shocking state, with uneven patches where they've tried to make repairs, and holes and ruts which they still haven't bothered about. It's one thing to have revenue coming in from the occasional car-mounted or hand-held speed cameras they have in the area once in a blue moon (not to mention what they already get from fixed cameras), but whether travelling fast or slow, your tyres have to be able to make contact with the road properly if you've gotta stop in a hurry...

[[Ken]]

Originally posted by Airzone

I don't know when it's a school day or not.  

Didn't you ever go to school when you were a kid? Don't you know the difference between a weekend and a weekday or morning and afternoon and night?

True they should just use that electronic sign to display the current speed limit, but nevertheless if you do get caught by that Carlingford camera you're a retard. If you're too dumb to figure out the time of day just slow down regardless.

[XCUZME]

i went through the one on the princes highway the other day at a bit over the limit, wasnt a school zone time, was about 1pm......but i was doing 70 where the limit was 60....

there was no warning signs! caught me totally by suprise.......

does it work during non school zone times?

[Doctor]

Come tell me you hate school zone speed limits after you hit a kid doing 70kmh. The thing that really shits me is when I'm doing 40kmh in a school zone and then everyone else is stuck up your ass or flying pass you. One day it might be your kid crossing a street and you'd hope everyone else is doing the right thing.

[Buttoned_Down_Psycho]

theres a school zone on the great western highway through st marys where it drops from 80 to 40 during normal school zone hours, they dont have a speed camera there YET but it seems like a great money raising spot for one so no doubt its only a matter of time. I also cant remember EVER seeing school kids crossing the highway or even more than one or two uniformed kids even walking along side it. As also mentioned, you drop your speed down to 40... and most others seem to continue doing 80, you know your doing the right thing but its annoying when a kenworth comes up behind you flashing its high beams and sitting right on your ass urging you to go faster if it can not change lanes. Remember bob carrs promise to put in more speed cameras and sending the revenue the way of spinal research (yeah right), well they also mentioned that most of the new cameras would be enforcing school zones. Looks like its begun. Funny how quick they are to set up a speed camera as opposed to how long it takes them to fix up a road as mentioned in an earlier post.

[red900ss]

IvanINC, if your spelling and grammar is indicative of the standards being taught in schools these days then NO traffic should be allowed near ANY school. You poor kids must find it hard to distinguish between red and green, let alone WALK / DON'T WALK.

btw, I just spent the day at my 7 y.o. niece's school open day and she would 0x/n J00 in any spelling bee....