Legislation Targets School Zone Speeding

The governor has signed legislation championed by Assembly member Bob Hertzberg as a way to crack down on speeders near schools and to cut red tape that entangles traffic law enforcement.

The bill written by Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks) and signed Thursday, eliminates the requirement of a traffic study in a school zone before police can use radar equipment to nab speeders.

“Unfortunately, we’ve made it difficult for police to use radar, one of the best tools we have for keeping speeders in check,” Hertzberg said in a statement. “This measure will help give officers the upper hand.”

Generally, the studies are aimed at adjusting the speed limit to the speed of 85% of the drivers on a stretch of road, Hertzberg spokesman Paul Hefner said. Before radar is used, the speed limits are often changed according to the study results.

But that couldn’t happen in a school zone, because the state requires the speed limit in a school zone must always be 25 mph, Hefner said.

The legislation, developed after conversation with Los Angeles City Councilwoman Laura Chick, also doubles the time between traffic and engineering studies before radar can be used along a stretch of road.

Currently, California requires the study every five years. The new law would require those studies every 10 years, therefore lengthening the time that radar could be used before the speed limit had to be changed, Hefner said.

And although most police departments already require at least 24 hours of training before officers can use radar, the new law makes it mandatory.