More than two-thirds of B.C. residents believe that road safety in school zones is worse when the kids are back in class.
Seventy-eight per cent of British Columbians have seen someone speeding in a school zone.
And four out of five drivers in this province think that drivers know the rules but break them anyway.
Those statistics come from a BCAA school zone road safety survey, and few of the numbers are surprising.
But another good question might be:
How many of those respondents admit to speeding in school zones themselves? The speed limit in school zones is 30 kilometres an hour. As all drivers know, this is very, very slow.
This posted speed limit in school zones is not in place to annoy or inconvenience drivers. The speed limit is that slow so drivers have the best possible chance of being able to stop very quickly in the unfortunate circumstance that a child (or a parent, for that matter) darts off the sidewalk or out from behind a parked car.
School started last week, which means for the next 10 months, not only will the streets of New Westminster be full of parents driving kids to school, the roads will be crawling with kids walking, running, cycling, skateboarding, scootering and otherwise moving around.
School zones are small, and the reduction in speed will do virtually nothing to hinder drivers getting on with their days. Despite this, the statistics suggest that many of you are speeding through school zones.
Far too often we, as media, have to report on a tragic accident where a child darted out in front of a car only to leave mourning family in the wake.
It will serve as no consolation to you if the child you just hit was in the wrong - that he jumped out from between two parked cars.
It will not put your mind at ease that the child you just hit was nowhere near crosswalk, or was clearly texting while he walked and paid no attention to the road in front of him.
Please, just slow down.
