New Digital Radar Signs Installed in Speed Zones of 12 Rochester Hills Schools

Back to school means back-to-school speed zone enforcement.

This school year, a set of 26 high-tech radar speed signs is making that job a little easier.

Workers are finishing the installation this week of the digital signs in school areas throughout Rochester Hills. The signs were purchased with a $305,000 grant awarded to the city of Rochester Hills and the Oakland County Sheriff's Office from the U.S. Department of Justice.

They are installed in the school zones areas near:

City officials said they have created the most comprehensive school safety program in Oakland County.

“Radar speed signs increase school zones safety by refocusing driver attention away from distractions and back to his or her current rate of speed,” Sheriff's Captain Michael Johnson said in a press release.

The new signs look similar to existing radar speed signs — they announce on a digital screen the speed of an approaching vehicle. These signs are also designed to collect data about traffic, average speeds and the number of speeding cars. This will, in turn, give the sheriff's office information on where patrols are needed.

“In this era of limited resources, the data we collect will allow us to become more effective and address the real acute speeders within the school safety zones and residential areas," Johnson said.

In an area around a school, the speed limit is 25 mph. The city identified locations for the signs by looking at school areas with the highest traffic flows and speed violations.