Las Vegas police explain time changes to school zone signs

Las Vegas police on Wednesday addressed recent changes to school zone signs that have left some motorists confused.

Authorities have been replacing school zone signs that listed the hours the slower speed limit was in effect to signs that call for slower speeds "when children are present."

That means that at all times children are on the sidewalk or crossing the street within the school zone, people need to obey the slower speed limit, Metropolitan Police Department Capt. Richard Collins said.

Police will ticket speeding motorists during the half-hour before a school starts and the half-hour after a school ends, when children are typically walking to and from campus, according to Collins.

He said the signs were changed because national studies have shown them to be more effective. Instead of concentrating on the school hours, he said the new signs cause motorists to concentrate on pedestrian students.

Some school zones still have blinking yellow flashers, which motorists are still expected to obey, Collins said.