The September Traffic Safety Spotlight was on #SchoolZones
September was back to school across Saskatchewan, and more than a few drivers learned a tough lesson about the cost of speeding through school zone.Ìý
Police issued 673 school zone speeding tickets in September. While that’s less than half the number that were , it’s still too many drivers speeding through school zones. Getting a school zone speeding ticket is even worse than getting sent to the principal’s office (20 km/h over the speed limit = a $310 ticket, plus three demerits), but the most important reason drivers need to slow down in school zones is to #KeepKidsSafe
School looks a little different these days, but driving advice for school zones hasn’t changed. If any drivers want to brush up, they should review .Ìý
While speeding was by far the most prevalent traffic infraction in school zones, a handful of drivers were ticketed for other offences, including:
- five tickets to drivers for failing to yield to a pedestrian at an intersection or crosswalk (a $230 ticket, plus three demerits); and
- one ticket for failing to stop five metres from a school bus when safety lights were in operation ($360 ticket, four demerits).Ìý
Other results reported by police during September include:
- 451 impaired driving offences, including 370 Criminal Code charges;
- 660 distracted driving offences, including 548 tickets related to cellphone use while driving;
- 414 tickets related to seatbelts, car seats or booster seats; and
- 6,977 speeding or aggressive driving tickets (in addition to the school zone speeding tickets noted above).
Police continue to be on the lookout for distracted driving in October. It’s easy to avoid getting one of those Just leave the phone alone, set aside other distractions and focus on the road.Ìý
