By OFFICER CORY ESTES
Local Metro Officer
With school starting this week, we’d like to take the time to remind parents and drivers of some traffic laws pertaining to school safety. Slowing down and obeying the speed limit is the top reminder on that list.
School zones are generally posted with signs designating the beginning and end of the zone, and generally include those streets which are directly adjacent to school property. For example, the entire block around Moapa Valley High School is a school zone. Our school zones and school crossing areas are controlled by street signs, as opposed to urban areas which have flashing lights to indicate when the school zone is active. In the past, many school zone speed limit signs listed the hours of operation. That changed several years ago. Our school signs now read, “WHEN CHILDREN ARE PRESENT” to indicate when a school zone is active. We are often asked to clarify what that means or when that applies. Most of the laws pertaining to school zones are only in effect during the time the school is considered active or as Nevada Revised Statute 484B.363 reads, “In operation.”
School zones and crossings are only active on days when school is in session; one half hour before school starts, to one half hour after school ends; and during times when the posted signs indicate a school speed limit is in effect. In our case, “WHEN CHILDREN ARE PRESENT”, is the indicator. This is where some confusion occurs. The beginning and ending of the school day (as it relates to the school zone being active), is dictated by the beginning and ending school bell ring times. Those times vary from school to school and are provided below. Drivers must slow to 15 miles per hour in school zones “WHEN CHILDREN ARE PRESENT” from one half hour before the beginning bell to one half hour after the ending bell. Keep in mind, the most obvious times for children to be present in school zones are at the beginning and end of the school day.
We are often asked if the school zone laws include children who are on the playground during recess; the answer to that question is — No. Children who are behind the enclosed and fenced areas of the school do not apply. An example of “WHEN CHILDREN ARE PRESENT,” (besides the beginning and ending of the school day), would be when children are loading onto a bus for a field trip and are now outside the fenced area. Another example would be the change between morning and afternoon kindergarten.
Although that time period is not near the beginning or end of school, there are still children being picked up and dropped off, so drivers would be required to slow down to 15 miles per hour.
Officers have literally had drivers blast through school zones and try to pose the argument they never saw any children present, and therefore they saw no reason to slow down. The bottom line is, if there are children outside the fenced area of a school a half hour before school starts to a half hour after school ends, you must slow down to the posted 15 mile per hour speed limit. The same rules apply to school crossings, which are located away from the school, except most of those crossings are posted at 25 miles per hour. Driver inattention or simply saying you did not see any children, is not an excuse, and the law does not read that way. If in doubt, slow down and help us protect the children.
Parents have questioned whether or not the school zone laws apply during extra-curricular activities, such as after hour sporting events or on non-school days. No, they do not. An example would be Friday night high school football games. These games are usually outside of the school operational period and therefore the laws would not apply, however we would urge drivers to slow down and pay extra attention, since these events are usually heavily congested with extra pedestrian traffic. Drivers are still required to slow down and use “Due Care” when driving in situations such as that.
Two new laws were enacted in 2015 pertaining to school zones. Nevada Revised Statute 484B.363 also prohibits making a U-turn in a school zone and prohibits passing or overtaking vehicles traveling in the same direction in a school zone. U-turns are illegal within active school zones and tend to be the most frequent violation we see locally; it also tends to generate the most complaints from parents and school officials. Some schools have posted no U-turn signs, but to clarify, U-turns are illegal as mentioned above regardless of whether signs are posted or not.
The “No Passing in a School Zone” law has raised questions as well. This law does not apply when passing parked vehicles. It is completely okay to pass legally parked vehicles whose drivers may be offloading students to the sidewalk. This law is the same as passing in a posted no passing zone or over solid double yellow lines on the highway. It is illegal to pass another vehicle traveling in front of you and going the same direction in a school zone. The key word is “traveling.” These two newer laws are the same as the speeding law in that they only apply during the operational period mentioned above.
Residents have also complained or asked questions about laws regarding parking in school zones. For example, a couple of common complaints are vehicles blocking the bus driveway at Grant Bowler Elementary School or vehicles parking on the crosswalks. This happens when drivers park their vehicles too close to the driveway entrances or park on the shoulder where the crosswalk is located. Here are some rules to be aware of regarding parking. First– don’t park where “No Parking” signs are posted.
Other prohibited parking areas include: within 20 feet of a crosswalk, within 30 feet from a stop sign, within 5 feet from a private or public driveway, within 15 feet of a fire hydrant and within 20 feet from a fire station driveway. Parking in the fire station driveway is also illegal and has been a problem at Logandale’s Fire Station 73. Parents who do this or who park in the fire station’s parking-lot may hinder or delay our valley’s volunteer responders as they are trying to get to emergency calls.
Lastly, drivers must come to a complete stop and not attempt to pass a school bus with red lights flashing. The only exception to this law is if a driver is approaching a school bus from the opposite direction on a divided highway. For that to apply, the highway must be physically divided with a barrier or physical median. Although those types of divided highways are found in larger urban areas, we do not have any roads or highways within our local area that would apply. If a school bus is stopped with red lights flashing, you must stop. Bus drivers will turn on amber flashing lights to signal that the bus is about to stop. Drivers who attempt to beat the red lights by accelerating and passing the school bus can also be cited under Nevada’s “Due Care” law.
We hope this helps to clear up some confusion about our school zone laws. Most of our local drivers do a great job of safely driving in our school zones, but we do get complaints throughout the school year about folks who continuously break the laws and we see several of those violations ourselves. Please obey the traffic laws and help us to keep our children safe when commuting to and from school. We hope you have a safe and wonderful school year.
Area School Official Beginning and Ending Bell Times:
Moapa Valley High SchooL-7:15 – 1:05
Mack Lyon Middle School- 7:34 – 2:15
Grant M. Bowler Elem. – 8:50 – 3:11
Ute V. Perkins Elem. – 8:55 – 3:06
Joseph L. Bowler Elem.- 9:05 – 3:16
