The school speed zone extends beyond the speed sign almost to the crest of the hill in the background
Motorists travelling through the active school speed zone on Washington Avenue at 20 kmh above the normal limit on Monday this week were in no danger of conviction, according to Bunbury Traffic Police.
Speed signs erected in the middle of the school zone by contractors installing new water mains in the Withers area set a limit of 60kmh, effectively cancelling the school zone speed, despite the zone being active at the time.
Road Safety manager for Main Roads, Brian Kidd did not share the Police view. He said it would require a close reading of the Traffic Code to determine whether in fact temporary signage indicating a higher speed would effectively cancel an active speed zone. “This incident is timely, in that we have just been discussing such an event hypothetically in our Safety Committee. I would be interested to know the particulars in this case, so that we can decide whether a change of policy is required.”
Mr Kidd was concerned that it had become common for contractors to have a generic traffic control plan drawn up by an approved body, and then have that generic plan applied to worksites without regard for the particular safety requirements of a work site. “The location in this case is unusual, in that the school speed zone along Washington Avenue is extended to the West .”
A spokesman for the contracting company conducting the installation said he was unsure what had given rise to the traffic management error on this occassion, and said that the traffic plan used had been supplied by an approved sub-contractor.
When approached by Podport, a spokesperson for the the Traffic Management Company said it was not uncommon for temporary speed signs to be erected within school zones, but that in such cases it was the responsibility of the on site traffic management personnel to modify those signs in accordance with the times during which the school zone was active. “According to the Traffic Act, motorists must obey the School Zone speed limit, regardless of temporary speed signs that might indicate a higher permissible speed.”
When asked whether it would have been prudent to note the school speed zone on the traffic management diagram supplied to the site contractor, the Traffic Management Company agreed. “We would normally do so, but in this instance it has been left off the plan diagram. However, it would have been detailed in the written instructions issued as part of the site traffic plan.”
The net effect of the signage as drawn up and instigated in this case, was to give the impression to motorists that they could proceed through more than half the active school zone at 20kmh faster than the gazetted speed. In doing so, motorists did not intentionally break the law, but were invited to do so by the signage designed to show the maximum permissible speed. Regardless of the technicalities of the law, the result was that any safety benefit from the school speed zone being active was negated by the temporary signs.