Media Advisory:
Feb. 11 — Winnipeg, MB. The precedent setting case described in the Winnipeg Free Press today (link below) highlights that the school zone near Henderson and Bonner in Winnipeg is improperly designated because it is clearly not adjacent or adjoining to a school. The Highway Traffic Act states that a school zone must be adjoining or adjacent to land on which a school is located. In this case, the John G. Stewart School is clearly not adjacent to the designated school zone signs.
The section of the Highway Traffic Act (Regulation 220) that defines a school for the purposes of image capturing enforcement is shown below. A similar trial is pending on Feb. 15, 2011 at 7:00 PM at 408 York Ave. in Winnipeg. The Crown Prosecution appears desperate to avoid a precedent – and is trying to deny that one has been established already. They have attempted to dismiss this case as a “one-off” incident that resulted from the camera operator’s lack of awareness of the location of the school. The Free Press article reveals that the magistrates decision was based on the proximity of the school zone in relation to the school – not on the operator’s knowledge of the school’s location. This therefore establishes precedent. Ethical and possibly legal protocol would therefore require that all citizen paid tickets generated from this improperly designated school zone be refunded immediately.
There is a high probability that the Crown will invoke a previously seen tactic and stay the proceedings for the Feb. 15th trial in an attempt to avoid confirmation of this precedent. Either way it will be an interesting outcome.
Regulation: http://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/regs/pdf/h060-220.02.pdfSchool zones
For the purposes of subsection 257.1(2)
of the Act, a school zone is a portion or length of
highway that
(a) adjoins or is adjacent to land
(i) on which a school is located, or
(ii) that is a schoolyard or school
recreational facility; and
(b) is identified as a school zone by approved
traffic control devices placed at the beginning of
the zone facing each direction of traffic entering
the zone.
Link to Winnipeg Free Press article:
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