School zones there to keep kids safe

As September brings students back to classrooms across the city, it’s worth reminding motorists that the 30 kilometre per hour school zones are back. They restarted on Sept. 1.

While the Brandon Police Service has not officially said they will be out in force at school zones this season as a means of enforcement, they have notified the public to slow down to help keep kids safe as the school year begins. So it’s a fair bet that police will step up enforcement and radar traps will be out at various locations during the next week or two.

Of course, police aren’t setting up speed traps to ruin your morning commute — they’re out there because our school divisions continue to report high traffic congestion and risky near-misses during drop-off hours.

Remember that driving 50 kilometres per hour in a school zone could result in a fine of more than $300, and failing to stop could result in a fine nearing $700.

Speeding plays a large part in making school zones more dangerous, and it’s important that we be mindful of school locations.

The Brandon School Division has noted in the past that an increase in traffic around schools can sometimes lead to congestion and parking challenges. Arrival and dismissal times for students tend to be the busiest times, with kids walking, biking or being driven to school.

Officially, school zones are in effect from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until next June. But that does not take into account after-school activities, where students are routinely dropped off and picked up after hours. It’s worth taking your time and slowing down around city schools even when school is done for the day.

But school zones are not the only locations where motorists need to be mindful. Every year, school bus drivers complain of motorists ignoring stopped school buses that have their red lights flashing and stop arms extended.

Drivers travelling in both directions must stop completely when a school bus displays flashing lights and has the stop sign extended, unless they are on a divided highway separated by a physical median or barrier.

This is a constant problem throughout the school year — not just at the start of September. Children crossing the road are not always able to fairly judge traffic, or worse, older kids are looking down at their phones and not paying attention. Remember that police and school divisions now rely on exterior bus-mounted safety cameras to catch licence plates.

In Manitoba, the total ticket fine for illegally passing a stopped school bus with red lights flashing currently stands at $673.65, with a conviction resulting in two demerit points on the Manitoba Public Insurance Driver Safety Rating scale.

We also wish to remind motorists that lots of students in elementary, high school and post-secondary education walk to school or to a bus stop, and they use crosswalks regularly. There has been some improvement of late on several busy streets, such as 18th Street, with the inclusion of flashing pedestrian crosswalk lights.

But even these extra safety precautions do not always stop disaster. Recall what happened in 2023 to Antoine Sutherland, a 15-year-old student at Vincent Massey High School who was killed in a vehicle collision at the intersection of Victoria Avenue and McDiarmid Drive. Sutherland was cycling across the roadway when he was hit by a driver doing twice the legal speed limit in the 50 kilometre per hour zone.

We get that school zones, bus warning lights and crosswalks can slow you down when you’re on your way to work, going shopping or even coming back home from a night shift. But arriving two minutes later to your destination is a small price to pay to ensure that every student makes it home safely.

Let’s start the school year off right.