Students are headed back to school. That mean it’s time to slow down through school zones, but this summer, some drivers got tickets issued after school ended and the flashing lights were turned off. Why? Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser looks for answers.
Back in the day, Oscar took your kids to school.
Oscar Alicea: “I used to drive a school bus for 10 years, and I was a mechanic at the same time.”
And he took being trusted with children seriously.
Oscar Alicea: “You know, and I know, the safety of all the school zones. I know everything. I know you’re not supposed to be speeding and everything.”
But this summer, Oscar got hit for speeding through a school zone near his home.
Oscar Alicea: “Two weeks later, you get a fine in the mail when the schools are closed. Why is that? I don’t understand.”
Public schools in Miami-Dade closed on June 5. Oscar got four tickets for going over 15 mph on June 12, 13, 16, and 17.
Oscar Alicea: “And there’s no light flashing, there’s nothing. I know the school’s closed, but they’re closed. Everything’s closed. There are no kids, there is nothing.”
The sign says “15 miles per hour on school days when flashing.”
Oscar Alicea: “If the light is flashing, I will go my speed limit, but it’s not.”
The signs on 22 Avenue are a little confusing.
One says the school zone is 7:15 to 4:15, others say the standard times.
Oscar Alicea: “And the tickets that I have, there’s no school in session, they’re closed. It’s crazy!”
There is a private school on 22 Avenue that didn’t end classes for a couple of weeks after public schools.
But Oscar counters: the flashing lights were off, and the ticket cameras kept clicking.
Oscar Alicea: Why am I keeping getting fines? You know, it’s not right.”
Oscar now has four $100 tickets. $400 in fines, meaning if guilty, his license will be suspended.
Oscar Alicea: “That’s why I contact you guys, because this bothers me, I never got a ticket in my life. Never. Never, for nothing.”
So, should Oscar be ticketed in a school zone when public schools are closed and the light is not flashing, Howard?
Howard: “It’s imperative that the children are protected around schools, but it’s also important that the signs and lights are consistent. If you have a light that’s not flashing and you ticket a driver who relied on that light, it’s unfair. A state statute says you can have a sign with times, and you can have a light, but they can’t contradict themselves like in this case. In my opinion, the tickets should be dismissed.”
I contacted the Miami Gardens Police Department, where Oscar was cited.
They told me that flashing lights are not required to issue a ticket, that the cameras were deactivated after the private school ended classes.
When I asked why the flashing lights were turned off then and tickets were still being issued, I was told the state controls the lights.
But then Miami Gardens did the commendable thing. Writing “Oscar’s tickets have been dismissed” as well as other drivers because of “residents being unaware that the [private] school in that area was still in session.”
Oscar’s reaction when I told him the tickets were wiped out?
Oscar Alicea: “When you go to Puerto Rico, everybody, when they’re singing or dancing or anything to celebrate, wepa, wepa, that’s the way it is.”
Patrick Fraser: “And that’s the way you feel right now?”
Oscar Alicea: “That’s the way I feel right now, happy.”
Happy his tickets were dismissed, and happy about his determination.
Oscar Alicea: “I didn’t give up. Wepa. Ha-ha-ha.”
Glad we could help you, Oscar. Wepa!
Now schools are starting back so slow down in the school zones and also don’t go by a bus when it’s stopped and the lights are flashing, or you’ll get a ticket there, too.
Zoning out, trying to solve a problem? No solution flashing in front of you? Bus us in to stop you from getting schooled.
With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN