The friendly reminder to obey the posted 20 m.p.h. speed limit was issued by Town Marshal John Cox, saying there would be some 450 students and teachers arriving to campus when the first day of school starts on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my humble opinion, any person motoring down Grand Avenue during school hours should be aware of the 20 m.p.h. school zone speed limit, and thus should be observing it,\u201d Cox warned.<\/p>\n
Cox said fines for speeding in a school zone range from $224 for exceeding the speed limit by as little as 5 m.p.h. up to $864 for any speed over 20 m.p.h. higher than the limit.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor your own financial sake, please observe the school zone speed limit,\u201d Cox pleaded.<\/p>\n
In addition to the speed limit, Cox said motorists should also be mindful of school crossings, pointing out there will be children \u201cdarned near everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very busy environment complete with many potential hazards,\u201d Cox said. \u201cThe slower you go, the quicker you can stop if you have to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n
When driving, the reaction time for the average person is less than a second, and a motorist\u2019s total stopping distance is also dependent on the vehicle\u2019s speed, road conditions as well as mechanical conditions of the car, Cox said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing the good folks at the Marshal\u2019s Office can do if your brakes need serviced or to quicken your reaction time, but the speed your vehicle travels in the school zone, well, we can do something about that,\u201d he added. \u201cI\u2019ve instructed our officers to strictly enforce the 20 m.p.h. school zone speed limit.\u201d<\/p>\n