Fighting a speeding ticket in a school zone is one of the hardest tickets to fight. Please note, these tips aren't for people who want to justify speeding in these zones and endangering the lives of children. These tips are for the situation where one caused no harm and might not have been aware they entered into a school zone and are now looking at a high fine.
The first defense is the time of the ticket defense. My first speeding ticket was in a school zone that I got at 9:15 in the morning thinking the zone ended at 9:00 as opposed to 9:30. All along this street many of the signs alternated ending between 9:00 and 9:30. Yes, it doesn't make alot of sense as it's confusing to drivers. But this can also be confusing to officers as well. Go back to the sign and see if the school zone time ends before you got your ticket because it might have been a mistake on the officer's part just like drivers sometimes make this mistake.
Another defense is the blocked sign approach. Go back to the area where you got your ticket and make sure that both signs of the start of the school zone and the end of the zone are clearly visible and not blocked by anything. It's best to do this as soon as possible that same day. Take pictures of any blocked signs to show that you may have been unaware of the circumstances.
Sometimes the flashing school zone lights are not properly working either. This isn't as strong of a case since there is normally a sign there, but many say something along the lines of the school zone being in effect while the lights are flashing. These sometimes malfunction and finding proof of that will greatly help your case.
None of these are a sure sign that you will get out of the ticket, but they are some of the strongest defense at either reducing the fine or getting the ticket dropped.
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