SCHOOL CROSSING GUARDS KEEP CHILDREN SAFE

(CARLETON PLACE, ON) – The Carleton Place Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) would like to remind motorists to drive cautiously and to be aware of school crossing zones and School Crossing Guard signs. The OPP has learned that there have been some concerns at School Crossing Guard locations since the beginning of the school year particularly at the intersection of McNeely Avenue and Patterson Crescent / Stonewater Bay.

A School Crossing Guard is in place to safely direct children across a highway. A School Crossing Guard has authority under the Highway Traffic Act of Ontario and when they display their stop sign, it must be obeyed.

Section 176(3) of the Highway Traffic Act of Ontario states:

“Where a school crossing guard displays a school crossing stop sign…the driver of any vehicle or street car approaching the school crossing guard shall stop before reaching the crossing and shall remain stopped until all persons, including the school crossing guard, have cleared the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle or street car is travelling and it is safe to proceed.”

The set fine for disobeying the sign is $180 including the victim surcharge and it is doubled in community safety zones.

To ensure our children get to and from school safely, please:

slow down when approaching a school crossing zone,
stop when the Crossing Guard holds up a stop sign and
proceed only when the crossing guard has reached the side of the road.

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