SPVM turns to students wearing speedometer backpacks to promote school-zone safety
Posted September 6, 2023 10:47 am.
Last Updated September 6, 2023 5:53 pm.
Students wearing bright yellow vests or digital speedometer backpacks were at a school zone along a major Montreal street Wednesday morning, making sure drivers were going the speed limit.
It was an SPVM operation coinciding with the start of the new school year, targeting drivers who may feel inclined to drive above the 30 km/h posted speed limit.
Similar operations were set up across school zones in Montreal.
Outside St-Arsène elementary school on Christophe-Colomb Wednesday morning, the students were shown how a police radar gun works to determine a vehicle’s speed.
And a digital backpack worn by a child – part of the SPVM’s “Living Speedometer” program – displayed that speed to drivers.
The digital backpacks show motorists how fast they are going when they drive by the kids. Similar projects were tested by the Sûreté du Québec and Longueuil police last year.
Montreal police officer and student wearing digital backpack checking speed in school zone outside St-Arsène elementary school on Christophe-Colomb Sept. 6, 2023. (Martin Daigle, CityNews)
SPVM officers were also monitoring any reckless behavior by drivers Wednesday morning along Christophe-Colomb.
School zone safety is a priority for various officials in Quebec this year.
The City of Montreal has vowed to complete more than a dozen projects by the end of the year with the goal of making the city’s school zones safer for pedestrians.
“Living environments are not shortcuts, and they must guarantee safe travel for everyone,” Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said in a statement this week. “Road safety is everyone’s business,” she added. “Every motorist must prioritize safety over speed.”
On Tuesday, Plante pointed to the rising number of serious road accidents as motivation to push forward with the urban redesign. Quebec’s public automobile insurance corporation counted 38 fatal accidents in the Montreal region, including the city and on-island suburbs, in 2022, compared with 29 in 2021.
“Our aim is to do more, faster,” the mayor said.
Montreal police officer checking speed in school zone outside St-Arsène elementary school on Christophe-Colomb Sept. 6, 2023. (Martin Daigle, CityNews)And year the Quebec government announced it was introducing 27 new road-safety measures by 2028, with a focus on school zones.
CAA-Quebec says 96 per cent of motorists in Montreal drive too quickly in school zones, according to spot checks.
At least 37,000 tickets were handed out to motorists in the province for non-compliance with road safety in school zones in 2022.
-With files from The Canadian Press
