Information related to school zones, school buses and playground zones.
According to the Association of School Transportation Services of British Columbia, travel by school bus is statistically the safest method of ground transportation for children. We all expect and demand nothing less when our children and grandchildren are riding those buses to and from school and school-related events.
When school starts, the road itself doesn't change. The signs are the same, the traffic laws are the same and your vehicle still works exactly as it did during summer.
What changes is what you have to watch for.
When installing a school crosswalk for the first time on a two-lane road with a 30 km/h speed limit, the design goal is clear. The system must focus on maximum visibility, eliminating driver distraction, and protecting short sightlines for elementary-aged children. An ideal installation does not rely on paint alone; it combines structural narrowing, physical elevation, and active electronics to create a crossing environment that reduces the opportunity for driver and pedestrian error.
Our driving centred culture and the recent decision to end the spring and fall time change have raised an important issue. It's going to be dark while children walk to school and the province and municipalities have failed to create safe pedestrian infrastructure to protect them. Forming a Walking School Bus group may be a quickly implemented short term answer until complete street upgrades are made.
The school patrol Program is a public service provided free of charge to elementary schools by the BCAA. Part of the CAA's School Safety Patrol Program it is recognized as an outstanding initiative for reducing injuries and deaths among 5-12 year olds.
Question: Our daughter failed her road test due to not reducing her speed to 30 km/h as she drove through a playground zone. We don't understand this because there were no signs were present.
Today was the first day back at school for elementary students where I live. The school is on an arterial road with a posted speed of 60 km/h that is often ignored by many drivers. I stood with speed watch volunteers for an hour from 10:00 to 11:00 am and was pleasantly surprised by what I saw.
Question: I've been living in the Armstrong Elementary school area for the last 1.5 years and I have never seen any speed enforcement taking place in the school zone on Rosedale Avenue or Pleasant Valley Road. It's beginning to feel like I'm the only one who knows the speed limit is 30 km/h. Is it as simple as calling the RCMP and requesting that they do enforcement here?
A playground zone in British Columbia is marked with a yellow diamond advisory sign. This tells drivers that they may find children present on the road and that they should use caution to avoid a crash. These signs are in effect from sunrise to sunset every day, all year around.
Two years ago I wrote about my experience that a significant part of the safety problem in a school zone was caused by teachers and parents themselves. Their driving behaviour as they showed up to work or dropped off their children sometimes left a lot to be desired. Did they not realize that they were contributing to the problem?