School Laws of Oklahoma

Chapter 12 - Safety and Security
Article II: Crossing Guards - Traffic Control

Section 1032. School Traffic Guards for Streets and Highways Outside Municipalities - Employment by County. (19 O.S. § 453)

The board of county commissioners may authorize employment of school guards for the sole and only purpose of directing travel and traffic on streets and highways outside the limits of incorporated cities and towns whenever the board deems it necessary to protect the life and safety of pupils attending the public schools of this state. School guards so employed shall meet the qualifications, perform such duties, and have such tenure as prescribed by the board of county commissioners. The school guards shall be paid a salary fixed by the board of county commissioners and shall be paid from the general fund as stipulated by the county excise board.

Section 1033. Speed Limit for School Buses - School Zones Outside Municipalities - Signs. (47 O.S. § 11-801)

(Beginning of statute omitted)

4. For a school bus, fifty-five (55) miles per hour on paved two-lane highways except on turnpikes and interstate highways where the maximum shall be sixty-five (65) miles per hour;

5. On any highway outside of a municipality in a properly marked school zone, of twenty-five (25) miles per hour, provided the zone is marked with appropriate warning signs placed in accordance with the latest edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. The Department of Transportation may determine on the basis of an engineering and traffic investigation that a speed limit higher than twenty-five (25) miles per hour may be reasonable and safe under conditions as they exist upon a highway, and post an alternative school zone speed limit. The Department shall mark such school zones, or entrances and exits onto highways by buses or students, so that the maximum speed provided by this section shall be established therein. Exits and entrances to controlled access highways which are within such school zones shall be marked in the same manner as other highways. The county commissioners shall mark such school zones along the county roads so that the maximum speed provided by this section shall be established therein. The signs may be either permanent or temporary. The Department shall give priority over all other signing projects to the foregoing duty to mark school zones. The Department shall also provide other safety devices for school zones which are needed in the opinion of the Department;

6. Twenty-five (25) miles per hour or a posted alternative school zone speed limit through state schools located on the state-owned land adjoining or outside the limits of a corporate city or town where a state educational institution is established.

* * * * *

D. The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is hereby authorized to prescribe maximum and minimum speeds for trucks, buses and automobiles using turnpikes. The regulation pertaining to automobiles shall apply to all vehicles not commonly classified as either trucks or buses. Such regulations shall become effective only after approval by the Commissioner of Public Safety, and after signs have been posted on the turnpike giving notice thereof. Such regulations may apply to an entire turnpike project or to selected sections thereof as may be designated by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. It shall be a violation of this section to drive a vehicle at a faster rate of speed than such prescribed maximum speed or at a slower rate of speed than such prescribed minimum speed. However, all vehicles shall at all times conform to the requirements of subsection A of this section.

Copies of such regulations, certified as in effect on any particular date by the Secretary of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, shall be accepted in evidence in any court in this state. * * * (remainder of statute omitted)

Section 1034. School Zone Speed Limits Signs in Municipalities. (11 O.S. § 22-117)

(Beginning of statute omitted)

B. Any municipal governing body which establishes ordinances and regulations governing school zone speed limits, shall place school zone signs designating the beginning and end of the zone on the side or in the center of the roadway. Such end zone signing shall be as follows:

1. On roadways of two driving lanes, only the end zone signing may be on either side of the roadway or in the center of the roadway; and

2. On roadways in excess of two driving lanes, the end zone signing shall be on the right side of the roadway or in the center of the roadway if said roadway is divided by a median.

School Laws of Oklahoma | Chapter 12 - Safety and Security | Article II: Crossing Guards - Traffic Control