Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/370921
PHOTO COURTESY OF MANITOBA PUBLIC INSURANCE F A L L 2 0 1 4 | G O I N G P L A C E S 39 speed is 80 km/h or above) and to designate speci c dates and hours when reduced speed limits are in e ect. But it is, as ever, up to motorists to adhere to the new limits and practice safe, responsible driving – something that shouldn't be too much of a chore once you know the lifesaving impact that easing up on the gas pedal just a tiny bit can have. According to a recent study by Manitoba Public Insurance, speed-related collisions cause the deaths of about 25 Manitobans each year. Naturally, any time a vehicle collides directly with a pedestrian the damage is potentially catastrophic, regardless of how fast you happen to be going. But consider the fact that, per that same study, when a person is hit by a car driving 50 km/h, the resulting impact I t's safe to assume that all of us, at one time or another, have driven a bit too far over the speed limit. Caught up in the hectic day-to-day grind of getting from home to the o ce, it's easy to forget that climbing behind the wheel puts us in control of a potentially dangerous machine. But at this time of year, when our commutes once again involve navi- gating around scores of youngsters heading to and from school, it's important to remember that excessive speed and school zones can be a deadly mix. "Every year, we do a back-to-school safety assessment," says CAA Manitoba president and CEO Mike Mager. "Along with the Winni- peg Police Service, we station ourselves at three school zones and we mark down all the instances of risky behaviour that we see in a morning between 7:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. And every year, we see over a thousand dangerous occurrences during this time frame. It's things like distracted driving, people that stop over the stop line, people that aren't slowing down in school zones . . ." The Science of Speed Last September, the Government of Manitoba took a big step toward better safeguarding the province's children when it nally rati ed leg- islation giving municipalities the power to lower the speed limit in school zones. ese amendments to the Highway Tra c Act allow municipalities to set maximum speeds in school zones (as low as 30 km/h where the regularly posted speed is up to 80 km/h and as low as 50 km/h where the regular posted ANALYZE THIS Better Slow than Sorry Make school zones safer for everyone by driving responsibly and easing off the gas pedal By Matt Currie