North Bay Police are making sure that kids are safe as they head back to school with a Traffic Safety Initiative for the month of September. The project will target motorists that disobey traffic laws, especially in school zones. Offences such as speeding, fail to stop for stop signs and illegally passing school buses with their lights flashing will be the focus of the campaign.
Drivers should be conscious of the fact they are sharing the road with school buses and that young children will be traveling close to the road in increased numbers on their way to and from school.
Motorists should be aware of the multiple Community Safety Zones throughout the City of North Bay. Community Safety Zones are primarily located near schools, sports arenas, and playgrounds, and require drivers to lower their speed limits. Fines for violating the speed limit in a Community Safety Zone are increased.
Flashing overhead amber lights were added to school buses in 2022. The flashing lights indicate that the bus will soon be stopping. If the bus’s amber lights are flashing, drivers must slow down and prepare to stop whether they are behind or approaching a bus.
Always remember:
- You muststop for a stopped school bus when it has its upper red lights flashing and/or its stop sign arm unfolded, whichever direction you are driving in. If a bus is stopped on one side of the road, a child may still need to cross to the other side of the road. Remain stopped until the bus moves.
- You mustobey the school bus law on any road, no matter how many lanes or what the speed limit is. Be prepared to stop for a school bus at any time, not just within school hours.
- When driving on a road with a median, traffic coming from the opposite direction of the school bus is not required to stop.
- Failure to obey these laws will result in a fine between $400 and $2000 and six demerit points
- If you are the vehicle’s registered owner, you can be fined even if you aren’t driving the vehicle at the time.
- Motorists mustalso yield to pedestrians and crossing guards in school zones.
There have been some alarming statistics about dangerous driving in school zones. The following information is from a poll conducted in 2019 by the CAA.
- Nearly a quarter of drivers report witnessing a near miss or collision in a school zone, more than half of which involved a child.
- Nearly half of Canadians say they witnessed a distracted driver in a school zone.
- Nearly 6 in 10 Canadians say there are more unsafe driving practices in school zones today than in the past.
- 70% of Canadians say they have witnessed speeding in school zones, an increase from polling done in 2016.
- unsafe motorist behaviours seen in Canadian school zones are speeding, illegal parking/stopping and distracted driving.
Transport Canada is also warning drivers to be safe saying that September is a dangerous month for pedestrians, with more fatalities occurring during this month than any other.
