Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Speed Cam Van in OLG School Zone
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April 8, 2013 at 4:04 pm #607088
desertdwellerParticipantI just got back from driving my husband to work this morning. When we went north on 35th at around 8:15am the school zone lights were blinking and I (of course) slowed down to 20mph.
On my way back home, going SB on 35th at around 8:45am, the lights weren’t blinking anymore so I was driving the usual 35mph. As I approached OLG I saw a flash of a camera coming from a white van (parked on the NB side) as I passed.
Thinking I had missed the flashing lights of the school zone, I looked in my rearview mirror and the lights weren’t flashing for NB 35th. I drove around to double check that the SB lights weren’t on, just to make sure. They weren’t.
I’m hoping that I don’t find a ticket in the mail…because I’m 100% positive that the flashing lights were not on at 8:45am.
Has anyone else experienced this issue?
April 8, 2013 at 5:20 pm #787913
SarahScootParticipantI haven’t, but if those lights weren’t flashing you should definitely contest the tickets. It’s not like there are posted hours on those signs, so those lights are really the only indicator of when you need to be mindful of the zone.
Fight, fight, fight! ;-)
April 8, 2013 at 5:36 pm #787914
BreezyParticipantThe speed cams are in vans?!
April 8, 2013 at 5:39 pm #787915
rockergirl5678ParticipantYes speed cam in van at OLG – be careful especially if lights are flashing. If this had happened I would have documented with pictures indicating time and emailed them to myself so I could prove lights were not on at specific date and time. Hope you don’t get a ticket but likely it will arrive tomorrow since that is what happened to my hubby.
April 8, 2013 at 5:53 pm #787916
elikapekaParticipantIt’s more of an SUV type vehicle than a van. It’s always parked on the east side of 35th, heading northbound, just south of the building. They had it operating at least one day last week when school wasn’t even in session, so if anyone gets tickets for last week (April 8 -12), I’d definitely contest it.
April 8, 2013 at 6:20 pm #787917
KatherineLParticipantIt’s not only if the lights are flashing that you’re required to slow. If there are children present outside, and it can be proven in court, the ticket will hold up.
April 8, 2013 at 6:23 pm #787918
JanSParticipantthose tickets sometimes take weeks up to a month for them to arrive. I know, I got one 3 weeks after….
April 8, 2013 at 6:24 pm #787919
desertdwellerParticipant@KatherineL: I don’t think that there were children present when I drove by, at least none that I recall seeing.
And yes, it’s a white SUV. The flash was almost blinding — it actually startled me it was so bright.
April 8, 2013 at 9:04 pm #787920
anonymeParticipantI think the entire school zone speed enforcement process needs to be revisited, clarified, and revised. The term “when children are present” is completely meaningless. What are the parameters? Present (or visible) within what distance? As far as I’m concerned, the law should be simplified so that lower speeds are required either: a) only when lights are flashing, or b) within certain time periods that are clearly marked.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for very strict speed enforcement. But it should be everywhere, not just school zones. There are many areas of West Seattle where extreme speeding is epidemic, and yet the speed vans/traffic enforcement rarely visit those areas.
April 9, 2013 at 8:44 pm #787921
sillygrrlParticipantThe one thing about this traffic camera is that the sign stating that it is photo enforced is is sitting about 3′ from the ground and is quite often blocked by a parked car. I believe they are only busting people going Northbound though, because that is the only place I have seen the photo enforced placard. Has anyone seen a placard going Southbound?
April 10, 2013 at 5:04 pm #787922
Good FridayMemberWhoopee I won, thought I saw a flash of a camera March 29th and yesterday we got the proof in the mail, the winning speeding ticket in a school zone, $189.00. It was Good Friday, the sun was shining and there wasn’t a sole in sight, only a car or two in the OLG parking lot. My wife was driving, I was the front passenger and Sadie the dog was getting some window time. Looking back now, it was Good Friday and school was dismissed at 12 noon. Hard to contest the ticket. We were in a School Zone at 3:02 PM doing 33 mph on a Friday and didn’t see a flashing light or a sole in sight. Great photo, you can see the dogs head out the window loving the sun and the wind. Believe me when it’s Friday and schools in session you know to slow your roll, you couldn’t possibly go faster than 15 mpg in that School Zone. Parents are lined up picking up,their kids and the cross walks are loaded. Were we in the wrong, was the signal light flashing? Who knows, we don’t have a traffic cam on our dash like some countries do. Hard to roll back the video in my head, but I do keep a sharp eye out when driving or riding, you just have to these days. Guessing there are only so many time settings the City can program these flashing lights to do. It was a school day, but the kids were out at noon, guess someone at the city didn’t get the memo! Looks like we’ll be taking one for the team, hope they use the $189.00 wisely, that kind of money doesn’t come easily these days.
April 10, 2013 at 5:55 pm #787923
rockergirl5678ParticipantJust wondering if anyone has contested this specific zone and if so what the results were.
My husband too received a ticket, paid it and then I investigated a bit as to where the signs are what the supposed zone is etc. and it’s not setup to give divers enough time to even slow down. The flashing light northbound is right before the driveway to pull into the school and the “camera van” is parked not far from it. No warning signs posted in the block before – just like posted above the sign stating there is a traffic camera photo enforced is sitting about 3′ from the ground and clearly not visible.
I wish my hubby had not paid his ticket so quickly as I love to make a point about this situation to a judge – we definitely should start an online petition to submit to the city for review. I fully agree we should not speed at all especially in school zones but this “zone” needs to be better marked and the issues discussed here and in previous posts need to be addressed. The $189 we put out hurt our budget as well as I was unemployed at the time.
April 11, 2013 at 1:10 am #787924
mama2papaMemberI received the dreaded OLG ticket after seeing the flash one afternoon… 189 bucks And requested to see the magistrate. Since there are no longer any WestSeattle locations that hold court to see magistrate appointments I had to trek downtown in the rain for the appointment. My ticket was knocked down to a hundred bucks But saw another WestSeattleite there who ended up paying 124 bucks… Clearly it’s the whim of the magistrate!
April 11, 2013 at 1:32 am #787925
Genesee HillParticipantWhen I drive through a school zone during school hours when school is in session, I drive 20 MPH. It has worked for many, many years. No tickets. Imagine that.
April 11, 2013 at 5:06 pm #787926
desertdwellerParticipant@Genesee Hill:
If you’re actually going 20 MPG on 35th around 11am, when all the children are safely in school, you’re causing a traffic hazard for the other drivers who are going the speed limit and obeying the rules of the road.
April 11, 2013 at 5:10 pm #787927
rockergirl5678Participant@Genesee Hill:
Imagine that…….the city dept. of transportation or whoever put in the signs actually did there job correctly so people could see the signs and have some time to reduce there speed like there supposed to……..but alas no they just want to make money off residents.
Yes, people need to slow down and obey the speed limits but giving them a warning and time to do it is necessary.
April 11, 2013 at 6:16 pm #787928
phoenixParticipantThis might sound dumb to some people but … Is there an actual person in the white van/SUV taking the pictures, or is it set up so it takes pictures without needing a person there? Not that it matters, but I was just wondering.
April 12, 2013 at 12:20 am #787929
Genesee HillParticipantYes, all. I knew my response would be a big hit. Especially with the hurry up crowd. I just told you what WORKS FOR ME.
Feel free to do whatever doesn’t work for you.
hehehe
April 12, 2013 at 12:31 am #787930
Genesee HillParticipantAnd, no, desertdweller, I have yet to be rear-ended for slowing in a “SCHOOL ZONE”. Or, in any other zone, for that matter.
In 46 years of driving…
LOL
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