While police are warning drivers to keep an eye out for kids crossing the road tomorrow on their way to school, they also want people to help them find police motorcycle No. 222.
During the first week of the new school year, Const. Carl Jarvis will be conducting his traffic duties on police motorcycle.
Police are encouraging drivers to pull over and stop to take a photo of Jarvis with the bike when they spot him somewhere in the community and post it to social media, tagging @SouthSimcoePS.
Called “222, Where Are You?” the photo challenge is part of the police’s traffic monitoring and enforcement blitz in Bradford West Gwillimbury and Innisfil during the first couple weeks of the new school year.
“The first week is all hands on deck,” said Const. Rob Enwright. “Their focus is on awareness. The second week is zero tolerance.”
“Every officer on duty that day (Sept. 4) … will be out in uniform,” added Const. Dave Phillips, noting officers will be in police cars, unmarked police cars, civilian-style vehicles, and on motorcycles.
Their main objective will be to remind drivers that kids are back in school, which means being extra mindful of their speed, parking, use of seatbelts, and general behaviour toward other drivers, he said.
While back-to-school time is not new for many parents, Phillips said they are the drivers most often stopped by police when school starts again.
“The people we’re stopping are moms and dads, grandparents… If people would only drive the way they want people to drive in front of their houses, we wouldn’t have a lot of these behaviours,” he said.
“It seems to be a trend province-wide — parents are driving their kids to school — (but) everyone seems to be five minutes late for everything.”
Phillips said people should not only be extra cautious of their own driving, but mindful of where children are walking.
“There’s a whole wide age range of kids going back to school. (They’re) excited to see old friends. They’re excited about changes in their life, and not focused on traffic as much as they should be,” he said.
Along with the police motorcycle photo challenge, South Simcoe police will launch a “Where Am I?” challenge during the second week of school. A photo of a police officer will be posted on social media, and people are encouraged to guess the location, as a way to raise awareness of police efforts in the community.
“We’re hoping to get people to be looking at slowing down (and) making sure everyone’s safe,” Phillips said.
Back-to-school safety tips:
- Children should walk on the sidewalk and cross at intersections
- Encourage children to walk with a friend or group
- Bike riders must always wear a helmet that is fitted and secured properly. It's the law.
- Kids should never wear headphones while walking or riding a bike
Safety tips for school bus riders:
- Be at the bus stop early so you aren't rushing
- Stand back from the road and board single file
- Always cross well in front of the bus and make eye contact with the driver so you both know it is safe to proceed
— Source: South Simcoe Police Service
