Police want drivers to be smart when kids head back to school in Oakville, Milton, Burlington

By

Published August 25, 2022 at 10:26 am

Many kids won’t want to hear about it, but school is back in less than two weeks for students in Burlington, Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills.

And for the 15th year, Halton Regional Police is once again getting ready to launch Project Safe Start.

This homegrown campaign, which focuses on education, awareness and high-visibility enforcement of traffic laws throughout Halton region, will run from Monday, Aug. 29 to Friday, Sept. 9.

Police want to remind drivers that very road user in Halton plays a critical role in road safety.

Drive attentively. You are driving distracted if your eyes, hands and/or mind are not focused on the task of driving. Holding a cell phone in your hands is an offence, regardless of whether you are talking on it, using the navigation system, or changing a song. This is still applicable when stopped at a red light.

Drive at a safe speed. Always abide by posted speed limits, with special care in community safety zones with special speed limits. Aggressive driving such as speeding, tailgating and failing to comply with road signs increase the likelihood of a collision. Aggressive driving reduces your reaction time and makes your vehicle movements unpredictable to other drivers.

Drive responsibly. Drug-impaired and alcohol-impaired driving can result in serious injury or death to you, your loved ones and other road users. Impairment from alcohol and other drugs slows your ability to react to changing road conditions.

The back-to-school season results in increased pedestrian and vehicular traffic across the region. As always, police are encouraging drivers to use heightened awareness and caution.

Halton residents consistently rank traffic concerns as their No. 1 policing priority. Project Safe Start is just one of many campaigns the HRPS engages in throughout the year in an effort to educate the public and enforce the Highway Traffic Act and other traffic-related legislation.

insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising