Conflicting information regarding driving in school zones

[robyn]

Please note: I am in BC, Canada, so some of this may sound different for people outside of BC.

I am taking a road test soon for my full privilege Class 5 licence. When I took the road test for my novice licence, school was in session so there was no confusion about slowing down to 30km/h in the school zone. Now that school is out for summer, should I still slow to 30km/h for testing purposes/assume there is summer school in session, or should I continue driving the regular speed limit? There is NO flashing light of any kind, just a sign that says "30km/h 8am-5pm School Days." I don't want to fail over something I could easily prevent (going too slow/fast in a school zone)! I read on the insurance corp. website (who does the road testing) "In July & August, school zone speed limits change unless there is summer school in session or a playground on site." Well, I can easily tell if there is a playground, but how am I supposed to know if there is summer school? Should I just assume?! I just don't know if the examiner expects me to drive normally or to slow down for the test. *cries* What would you do in the situtation?

 

[berryLOVE]

I never thought of like that.
I would follow the school signs.
Sometimes the schools in my area are still flashing.

I would ask parents and others.

 

[kaliraksha]

You could probably easily ask the instructor before you handed in your form to take the test. Better to be safe than sorry =)

 

[gigiopolis]

I'm not 100% sure, but consider all the different levels of schools with school zones. In elementary school, there's no summer school per se, but likely to have summer camp in session. School zone likely in effect. A lot of high schools offer summer school, so school zone also in effect. Honestly I think it's unreasonable for the road test to expect you to know whether or not a school has kids on their grounds in the summer or not, so I would just slow down anyway.

What are they gonna do, deduct marks for going too slow in such a small stretch of road? You're not a traffic "hazard" when you slow down in an area where there is clearly a school with an existing school zone sign, and for such a short period of time. It's not like you're suddenly slowing down upon merging onto a highway. It's a much more dangerous thing to NOT slow down in a school zone, even when there aren't any summer sessions going on.