Alberta drivers are being warned to slow down and pay extra attention to their surroundings as hundreds of thousands of students head back to school Tuesday morning.
The Alberta Motor Association (AMA) will continue to make sure everyone can safely cross the street in playground zones by once again enlisting student patrollers at schools across Calgary.
AMA chief instructor, Wayne McLachlan, says the organization has been partnering with the Calgary Police Service for more than 80 years on the initiative .
"It’s so important to use safe practices stay in the speed limit, leave adequate space and be extra vigilant for kids walking along sidewalks," McLachlan said. "Drivers should be focusing at least one and a half blocks ahead of your vehicle, checking if there’s parked cars on the roadways and looking at the bottom edges of the car or curb to see if there’s anybody coming around."
As usual, playground zones are in full effect with the speed limit posted at 30km/hr from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., every single day, year round.
Calgary has more than 1,600 playground zones and police will be monitoring them to make sure drivers follow all signage.
Cst. Les Mills with the Calgary Police Service adds that it’s best to plan ahead as roads and signs around schools may have been altered during the summer.
"There's going to be different places to park, they have the new RFB setup, which is the rapid flashing beacons for crosswalks," said Mills. "Everything can change. If you leave early it gives you the opportunity to get to the location, have a quick look around, make sure everything's in the place where you need to be and you're not going to commit any offences - double parking, u-turns – and then you're not in a rush, you're not going to be speeding."
If you’re caught speeding, fines double in playground zones with penalties going all the way up to $500.
