Dec 4, 2004 4 min read

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Lead-footed drivers clocked doing at least 27 mph in a 15-mph school zone could soon face fines of up to $500 under a measure awaiting Gov. Ed Rendell’s signature. The stiffer penalties were passed by the Legislature last month as part of a campaign to address a rash of accidents in Philadelphia, where more than 90 students were struck by vehicles during the 2003-04 school year, many of them just outside schools. Rendell’s office indicated that he supports the bill but stopped short of saying that he will sign it.

State law requires the Department of Transportation to approve the locations and hours for low-speed zones around schools. But experts say the 15 mph limit is more often violated than observed, and changing drivers’ habits can be difficult.

“Our high school campus is in a heavily congested traffic area. We’ve tried all kinds of approaches with flashing lights (and) signs,” said Tom M. Bradley, spokesman for the 8,500-student Altoona Area School District. “We still have people who drive too quickly through there in the morning and afternoon.”

In Philadelphia, where some 220 students were struck on the way to or from school or outside school buildings in the past three years, a crusade to reverse the trend was led by the Philadelphia Daily News.

The paper, which published 60 stories on the subject this year, described how students had suffered injuries as severe as broken bones and concussions. Using a radar gun, it documented school-zone speeds of up to triple the posted limit, although virtually no tickets were being issued. And it found crossing guards were often absent, poorly supervised and inadequately trained.

The city council, police and school district took up the cause, installing more warning signs, improving speed enforcement, reforming the crossing-guard system and mounting a public-information effort.

The result has been a drop of about one-third in student-pedestrian accidents compared to last year.

With the support of House Speaker John M. Perzel, R-Philadelphia, the statewide reforms were tacked onto a transportation bill that sailed through the Legislature in less than two months.

If Rendell signs it – he has until Dec. 10 – violators will be assessed three points on their driver’s licenses and repeat offenders could have driving privileges suspended for 60 days.

Pennsylvania is one of only 19 states that imposes additional penalties for speeding in a school zone. The current law provides for a $35 fine plus $2 for each mile-per-hour in excess of 5 mph over the limit.

The proposed law would become among the toughest in the country, although school-zone speeders in some states can face jail time and fines in four states can reach $1,000.

Seven states have considered new or enhanced school-zone speeding penalties over the past two years, but so far only Virginia has adopted them, said Melissa Savage, a policy analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver. Questions about effectiveness may be one reason higher fines are not more common.

“The problem is that there haven’t been any studies really that have decided if these types of interventions work,” Savage said.

Bob Koveleskie, a private investment banker in Greensburg who six years ago started Slow Down for Children Inc. to improve safety outside schools, said it’s just common sense that a large fine will alter driving behavior. He also supports standardized school-zone markings and imposing the 15 mph speed limit from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“We believe this $500 fine will now have children coming home safely to their families who otherwise would not have – that’s a fact. And I don’t think there’s a greater gift that our legislators could have given to our children and their families,” he said.

The higher fines passed the Pennsylvania Senate unanimously and overwhelmingly in the House, but not everyone is cheering. A spokesman for the National Motorists Association in Waunakee, Wis., said his group believes other approaches are more effective.

“Rather than addressing the engineering problems, trying to make it a safe area, the response is: ‘Let’s just increase the fines.’ Well, that doesn’t stop people, because they don’t even know they’ve been going through a school zone,” said Eric Skrum, spokesman for the 6,500-member motorists-rights group.

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On the Net:

Slow Down for Children Inc.: http://www.slowdownforchildren.org