Letter: Traffic tickets: maximizing revenue

I recently was ticketed for speeding in a school zone, even though I was unaware of the school and the one and only sign was hidden by foliage. I believe these conditions are used to create an impromptu speed trap.

If city officials and police departments were truly concerned about safety of children, three things would have been different:

• They would have taken the time to clear the foliage obscuring the sign before the first day of school so drivers would be forewarned and could abide by the speed limit.

• They would also have a sign at the bottom of the hill warning drivers of a “School Zone Ahead.”

• In the absence of the first two, a conscientious traffic official would have placed himself/herself near the entry to the school zone to warn drivers of the situation. Instead, the officer was behind a bus 300 feet away and clocked people as they crested the hill.

Even though I paid the fine, I am convinced that the officer and his department behaved in a manner that was more concerned about maximizing revenue than minimizing danger to our schoolchildren.

Dave Smith

Vancouver