Are speed limits enforced in school zones during the summer?

(NEXSTAR) – Summer is in full swing, which means many kids are out of school. Even if you haven’t been dropping off or picking up kids at school lately, you may still find yourself driving through a school zone and passing a sign warning you to slow down.

Those signs, with their bright yellow “SCHOOL” lettering, are hard to miss. Yet you might be inclined to ignore them in the summer — school’s out anyway, right?

However, you can still get a ticket, even on a warm Tuesday in the middle of July. It all depends on what’s on your sign and who’s around.

For example, according to the city of Madison, Wisconsin, the reduced speed limit applies “when children are going to or from school, when children are on the sidewalk or near the school, or at a mid-block intersection/crosswalk marked with a sign.”

That, and signs like the one below that say “if children are present,” would mean that the school zone speed limit is in effect when children are trying to cross the street or sidewalk.

When school is in session and students are on recess, the school zone speed limit does not apply, at least not in Appleton, Wisconsin, the Appleton Post Crescent previously reported, citing now-retired Appleton Police Sgt. Dave Lund. He added that the school zone is enforceable during regular school hours — considered to fall between approximately 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays — during the school year.

Because much of the months of June, July and August fall outside the normal school year, speed limits in school zones are generally not enforceable.

There are two important exceptions: when summer school is in session and, as noted above, when children are present.

“If there are children present, you can assume that school is in session and the reduced speed limits are in effect,” Mike Lawton, the now-retired police chief of Republic, Missouri, previously explained to the Springfield News-Leader.

If there are signs in your area with flashing lights warning you to slow down, such as the sign below, you should obey them.

Your municipality may also list the times that the school zone is enforced to further alleviate your concerns. They may be vague, such as “7 AM TO 6 PM SCHOOLDAYS,” or more detailed, with multiple time frames indicating when the reduced speed limit is in effect.

In most places you will also see a sign that indicates when the school zone has ended. These are often less conspicuous than the signs that warn that a school zone has started.

After passing this sign, you can again adhere to the maximum speed for the school zone, unless otherwise indicated.

Some cities, such as New Orleans, disable traffic cameras — which can record traffic violations and send tickets to the address listed for a license plate — in their school zones during the summer. Other cities, including a handful in Georgia, keep the cameras on when summer school is in session.

Regardless of where you are or when you are driving, authorities recommend reducing your speed in school zones, especially when there are children or other pedestrians nearby.

Even though the speed limit in a school zone does not currently apply where you are driving, the rules will undoubtedly be in effect again when students return to school in a few weeks.