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CAA is sharing tips on how to keep school zones free of congestion while maintaining students' safety as they return to classes this week.
"According to a recent study that we conducted, what we learned from mostly parents or guardians, is that 90 per cent of us have witnessed unsafe driving behaviours around school zones," says Ewald Friesen, the Manager of Government and Community Relations with CAA Manitoba. "This has included speeding, distracted driving, and also parking in a school bus area."
According to Friesen, as a result, many parents are opting to drive their children to school. This actually only exacerbates the problem, causing more congestion.
"Sixty-two per cent of parents have deemed school zones unsafe."
Tackling the Issue and Focusing on Safety
The first way for people driving through school zones each day, including parents dropping off their children, can be less distracted is to put away their phones.
"Another thing we can do is be mindful of school buses. There seems to be some confusion over the years. When the stop sign comes down and the red lights are flashing, we are to stop behind the school bus. But this also applies when we're approaching it from the front. Stop, give it five metres."
As of Sept. 1, all school zone speed limits are reduced once again until the end of June when the school year is done. This means a greatly reduced speed for all motorists.
"Generally speaking, what we've noticed over the years is that there's a bit of an adjustment period. Obviously, be mindful of that speed limit."
Friesen says a fourth way for parents to help keep school zones safe and less congested is to pick a designated drop-off spot far enough away from the school. This allows for consistency with students and a much shorter walk, while keeping traffic flowing near the school.
"Generally, when we talk about photo radar around schools, there's a lot of appetite for this thing. There are plenty of other things we can do, municipal governments can do to help slow us down around school zones. Like speed bumps and limits. According to our survey, photo radar ended up being something that generally had a lot of support."
Many rural areas have chosen to place digital speed boards near school zones, alerting the driver to their speed, which has also been quite effective.
"There are plenty of things we can do to make our school zones safe, but road safety is everyone's responsibility. Whether you are a pedestrian, a motorist, or a cyclist."