The Evanston City Council recently voted to raise the fine for speeding in a school zone from $150 to $500.
Like the previous law, the new one bans drivers from driving over 20 mph between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. within designated zones on school days. The ordinance will take effect Feb. 26., according to a press release.
Ald. Don Wilson (4th), who proposed the law, said the council hoped the higher penalty would grab drivers’ attention and make them more conscious of their behavior on the road.
“Part of the idea is to draw people’s attention to the fact that, ‘Wow, you can’t break the law,'” Wilson said.
Increasing city revenue was not a primary goal of the law, Wilson said. He said if the law inspires more cautious driving, ticketing in school zones should decrease.
Research indicates driving just 10 mph slower than the general 30 mph speed limit can radically decrease the severity of accidents where drivers hit pedestrians, Wilson said.
Evanston/Skokie School District 65 hasn’t been campaigning to have the speeding fine raised, said Pat Markham, communications director for the district. The district was pleasantly surprised, she said.
“The district understands the city’s effort to make school zones safer,” Markham said.
Althea Ricketts, president of the Parent Teacher Student Association for D65, said she thought the benefits of the law for parents’ mental health were at least as great as those for children’s physical well-being.
“I don’t know if it’ll have a direct impact on children, but I think it’ll give parents a calmer sense when their children have to maneuver through crosswalks,” Ricketts said.
The fine increase could also have a positive impact on Northwestern students, Wilson said.
He speculated giving drivers greater incentive to be cautious could help protect the numerous NU students who bike on roads.
But Heather Waldron, a Medill junior who owns a car, said she thought the law was unlikely to benefit her. Though she doesn’t often drive through school zones, she said the high fee still worried her.
“Five hundred dollars is not really something I can afford as a college student,” she said. “It seems like a little bit of overkill.”
Gus Wezerek, a Medill sophomore who commutes by car from Wilmette, said he could also see the law’s inconveniences. Wezerek, who describes himself as “someone who likes to drive expediently,” said he received a ticket for driving too fast for weather conditions just last week.
But Wezerek said he reluctantly approved of the law. His younger brother was hit by a car in fourth grade and broke his leg, he said.
“I wouldn’t want to see that kind of thing inflicted on anyone else,” he said.[email protected]
