Thursday, November 20, 1997
The University Daily Kansan
Section A • Page 5
KU police give tickets for various violations by drivers, bicyclists
Mary Corcoran
mcorcoran@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Speeding tickets may not always worry students; often, offenders can pay double the fine and get the ticket taken off of their record.
But for police officers, speeding citations offer the best way to enforce a law.
"If there was a better way, apparently nobody's thought of it," said Sgt. Chris Keary of KU police.
Last semester, KU police officers issued 135 speeding citations. This semester, they have issued 78 citations.
Some students may receive citations because they are not aware of the speed limits on campus. The KU campus is considered a business zone, not a school zone, which makes the speed limit 30 mph unless otherwise posted.
The "otherwise posted" areas on campus include Sunflower Road, Jayha'k Boulevard, West Campus Road and the Stouffor Place parking lot. On these
roads, the speed limit is 20 mph.
Officer Burdel Welsh of KU police said the most common citations issued by KU police officers were for speeding, running stop signs, having expired tags, being an uninsured driver and having a suspended driver's license.
Keary agreed, saying speeding was the most common citation issued by KU police officers.
Fines for on-campus offenses are similar to Lawrence city fines because there is both a citation cost and a court cost. Citation costs depend on the offense, but court costs are $21.50 for every citation issued.
Welsh said the Lawrence police department did not receive the money generated by tickets. The Lawrence Municipal Court collects the money and distributes it to various city funds.
The KU police department issues many citations to motorvehicle drivers on campus, but it also issues citations to bicyclists. Welsh said that one year campus police wrote 200 tickets for bicyclists.
Bicycle citations have slightly lower fines than motor vehicle citations. However, municipal court costs are the same. The most common bicyclist citations are written for not using a headlight at night and running stop signs. Welsh said.
Welsh said writing citations was an important part of a police officer's job but not an officer's primary function.
"They are significant, but an officer takes so man, other calls that writing tickets is not the majority of his activity," he said.