RCMP reminds drivers to slow down

With school season starting up again, Cochrane RCMP is reminding drivers and pedestrians to be safe in school zones.

“We usually get a lot of complaints about erratic driving in the first couple of months after school starts,” Const. Jennifer Brewer explained.

“In the tri-school areas we also get complaints of people running stop signs and ‘stunting.’”

School zones speed limits are now in effect, with the speed limit in both rural and urban school zones at 30 km/h unless otherwise posted, according to Transportation Alberta. The school zone hours are in effect from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on school days, Brewer said.

The Cochrane RCMP members also urge caution students to be safe on the sidewalks and crosswalks.

“Kids forget the proper use of sidewalks and crosswalks, we want to remind kids to look both ways and use the button and wait before crossing,” Brewer said.

Students on bicycles, scooters and skateboards have to dismount before crossing, unless there is a designated shared path zone in which case the riders have to obey the rules of the road.

“The pedestrians have just as much responsibility as the motorists,” Brewer said.