PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Some frustrated drivers in Port St. Lucie claim they\u2019re being unfairly ticketed in school zones, calling the citations a \u201cmoney grab.\u201d Police say that\u2019s not the case and insist the enforcement is about keeping kids and crossing guards safe.<\/p>\n
Several parents told CBS12 News they support safety in school zones but believe the sign is hard to see and they’re being hit with hefty fines.<\/p>\n
Jazmine Ricco, a mom of four and retired police officer, said she was pulled over on Morningside Boulevard while dropping her kids off at school.<\/p>\n
Her ticket shows she was going 24 miles per hour in a 15-mile-per-hour school zone, nine miles over the limit. Ricco argues she was clocked before even entering the zone. She said the placement of the sign itself is another problem.<\/p>\n
“It just doesn\u2019t seem logical for a sign that you can\u2019t see,\u201d Ricco said. \u201cYou have an end road work sign sitting in front of it as well as a tree.\u201d<\/p>\n
CBS12 News drove past the sign and confirmed it\u2019s partly blocked, making it easy to miss until you\u2019re right on top of it.<\/p>\n
Port St. Lucie Police, however, said the school zone is clearly marked and has been in place for years.<\/p>\n
“I understand this is a school zone and I come through here every day, but things are still supposed to be posted so we can actively see where we are and where we’re not,” Ricco said.<\/p>\n
See also: Ex-coach arrested after footage showed inappropriate act with student in school hallway<\/a><\/p>\n Shantel Luke was also ticketed in a school zone down nearby.<\/p>\n “I don’t want people to speed around here,” Luke said. “I do think it’s a numbers game, unfortunately, and I don’t think it’s safe on behalf of our kids.”<\/p>\n Luke said she was pulled over before entering the zone and argues that stopping cars along Morningside creates a traffic mess and it’s dangerous.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have buses from both Morningside Academy and Morningside Elementary trying to get through,\u201d Luke said. \u201cThere\u2019s no safe place to pull over. It\u2019s causing more of a disruption and safety issue for students that are walking.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Port St. Lucie Police Department said the Morningside area is not a speed trap \u2014 it\u2019s about protecting students. Officers say they\u2019d much rather drivers slow down than have to write tickets.<\/p>\n Police said they’re not just enforcing the speed limit in that school zone; they’re monitoring 19 others across the city.<\/p>\n Both Ricco and Luke said they plan to fight their tickets in court.<\/p>\n Find more ways to stay up to date with your latest local news. Sign up for our newsletter<\/a> to get the day’s top headlines delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our YouTube channel <\/a>for the biggest stories and can’t miss video.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Some frustrated drivers in Port St. Lucie claim they\u2019re being unfairly ticketed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46084,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[30193,30194,171,173,172,12783,4186,30195,30192,1998],"class_list":["post-46083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-driver-complaints","tag-police-response","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news","tag-road-safety","tag-school-zone","tag-sign-visibility","tag-speeding-tickets","tag-traffic-enforcement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46083\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}