Winnipeg police are urging drivers to slow down in school zones.
As of Sept. 1, reduced speed limits have come into effect, and Const. Darrell Hees says it’s easy for drivers to forget about the back-in-force 30 km/h limit after not having to worry about it through the summer.
“It’s such a common thing that goes on. We’re so used to driving through these areas and we have to remember that in September all the way until June, they are 30 km/h school zones,” Hees told Global Winnipeg.
“There are a lot of kids that are going to be walking around, you have to just pay a lot more attention.”
Hees said police have unmarked cars set up in a number of school zones, plus commissionaires are set up in vehicles, particularly in areas that have received a lot of complaints about speeders.
“The idea is not to catch people, the idea is to keep the kids safe and make people aware that (the 30 km/h limit) is out there and to make them slow down,” he said.
“They have it going until at least about two hours after the school time is over, so that the kids can be playing in the school (yards) and when they’re leaving, they can walk safely home.”
In addition to safe driving, Hees said it’s important for parents and caregivers to instill safety practices in students — whether they’re walking to or from school, riding a bike, taking a school bus or even being driven in a car.
“It’s important to be very safe with the speed zones and the schools, but then also just make your kids aware of the safety issues when they’re walking to or from schools … whether they’re going by bike and making sure they’re riding safely and wearing their helmets.
“Even with the school bus, getting on and off the school bus, teach them their safety.”
Hees also encouraged parents to set up a code word with their kids so they won’t get in a car with a stranger who tells them, ‘mom said to pick you up today.’
While speeding through school zones — and the resulting pricey tickets — may be an annoyance to some drivers, safety around schools is a major concern for Manitoba parents.
CAA Manitoba’s Elisha Dacey said a recent study showed a whopping 94 per cent of parents surveyed said they had some level of concern about safety in school zones.
“Some of the things people said they were seeing included double parking, speeding as a big one, distracted driving, and parents are worried that if they send their kids off to school, that you’ve got all of these things around the school that could potentially lead to harm,” Dacey told Global Winnipeg.
“It can be pretty easy to accidentally go fast, because it doesn’t take a lot in a school zone to go over that limit, so just be aware.
“It’s a good idea to slow down near school zones, daycares, anyway, whether there’s a sign up (or not).”