Creston RCMP is urging drivers to be cautious as students head back to the classroom this month.
School zones in Creston will be back down to 30 km/h and will be in effect from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm every day.
Cst. Brett Urano pleads drivers to be watchful.
“Drivers should be watching for kids on the road, walking to and from school. Our high school and elementary schools will all be very busy. There will be lots of children walking to and from school during school hours.”
He adds they have had issues with drivers not obeying the proper protocol around school buses.
“We always have an issue here in Creston with people passing school buses when dropping off or collecting passengers. We’d like to remind the public to always stop for school buses when their stop sign is out and their red lights are flashing.”
Failing to stop for a bus can result in a $368 fine and reaching excessive speeds in a school zone could have fines from $368 to $480.
“We have zero tolerance for speeding in our school zones because that’s where everyone’s children are. And unfortunately, kids don’t always watch out for what’s going on around them and aren’t aware of vehicles as well as adults are.”
However, fines aren’t the worst possible consequences of driving recklessly.
“The speed, especially in the school zones or at any time, can result in devastating things. Someone could strike a pedestrian and someone could lose their life or even just be badly injured and then have to live with those consequences forever. And we want to make sure everyone’s safe on our streets by slowing down and just being courteous to others.”
