REGINA — A recent CAA School Zone Safety Assessment caught nearly 500 infractions in under two hours.
The assessment was conducted at the Argyle Elementary School in Regina on May 21st between the hours of 8:15 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. to 4 p.m. These are peak drop-off and pick-up times for the school.
Members of the school, Regina Police Service, City of Regina, and CAA Saskatchewan partnered collaborated to track and identify risky behaviours in the school zone.
The CAA conducts these assessment at no cost through their app, utilizing school staff or volunteers to collect data.
Through their assessment, 471 infractions were caught. The highest offences were jaywalking, with 170 infractions, followed by speeding, with 87 infractions, and vehicles not stopping at crosswalk, collecting 81 infractions.
“Thanks to the CAA app and volunteers, we were able to get the information we needed to communicate with families and the community to make our very busy intersections safer for our students. We are hopeful that the information we collected will help us talk with our community partners to obtain safer crossing systems to keep everyone safe,“ said Chris Weber, Vice-Principal at Argyle Elementary School.
Going forward, the CAA is encouraging pedestrians to:
- Stop, look, listen, and think before crossing any street or busy intersection
- Cross only at designated crosswalks
- Never jaywalk, and never run out between parked cars, buses, or buildings
As for motorists, the CAA is reminding them about ways to protect school communities by:
- Eliminating distracted driving
- Observing traffic laws and posted speed limits
- Paying attention to No Stopping and No Parking signage
- Avoiding U-turns in school zones, which are illegal in some municipalities
