Police offer tips for a safe school year
Posted Sep 6, 2011 07:06:33 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Whether they like it or not, kids in HRM are waking up to a new school year.
That means busy rush hours as parents and buses get students to class and police are talking about how everyone can stay safe during a busy time of the year.
For starters, there’s going to be a lot more foot traffic out and about and Staff Sergeant Reid McCoombs tells News 95.7 to get ready for more car and bus traffic too.
“Parents are driving children to school but there are a lot more children are on foot which means a lot more people in the crosswalks,” he says “Not that people shouldn’t drive with caution all the time away, but exercise extra caution especially while the younger children are getting used to going to school.”
He says kids who walk to school should always go in groups, make sure you use crosswalks and check both ways before walking if there isn’t a crossing guard.
“Making sure parents know the route that they’re walking in case they get delayed or, as kids can do, stop to play along the way, parents should know the route they’re going to be walking in case they have to go looking for them”
McCoombs also points out excited students are less likely to pay attention, so be extra careful when driving in school zones.
“I mean, we hope that kids are always cautious and using their best judgment but that doesn’t always happen so we rely on the drivers to drive cautiously and look out for the kids.”
He says cars speeding through school zones have always been a problem as well as parents parking in no-parking zones around the school that can cause unsafe traffic issues.
