On Wednesday, November 16th, 2022, a CAA School Zone Safety Assessment was conducted at Gull Lake Public School in Gull Lake, Saskatchewan. The assessment took place before school from 8:15 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., lunch dismissal from 11:40 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., and after school from 3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

 Photo courtesy of the Town of Gull Lake

Staff from the Town of Gull Lake and RCMP from the Swift Current Rural Detachment worked onsite in teams to track risky behaviours for motorists and pedestrians in the school zone.

“The CAA School Zone Safety Assessment is an online app that tracks identified risky behaviours and ultimately provides education and awareness about the importance of school zone safety,” said Angel Blair, CAA School Zone Safety Coordinator. The assessment tool is free of charge and can be booked through CAA Saskatchewan. School or community staff must make themselves available for onsite tracking and can work with CAA to establish the risky behaviours to be tracked. The results are collected and given to the school community to share with staff, students, families, community partners, and decision makers regarding necessary steps to improve the safety in their school zones.

Bonnie Lingenfelter, spokesperson for the Town of Gull Lake, remarked “we as a community, now more than ever, need to work on providing the safest place for our children to attend school. Safety may not be top of mind, so through the CAA School Zone Safety Assessment App, we are able to track motorist, pedestrian, and cyclist risky behaviours, for the purpose to educate and grow our community into the safest place for our children to live, play, and flourish.”

According to the November 16th assessment, the top hazardous driving behaviours that motorists perform in the school zone are failing to stop or yield, failing to signal to turn, and speeding. The top risky pedestrian behaviours are jaywalking and failing to look both ways before crossing the street.

CAA reminds motorists that we can work together to make our school zones safe by:
•    Observing and obeying the posted speed limits and hours that the speed limits are enforced
•    Eliminating distracted driving
•    Obeying traffic laws
•    Understanding and abiding by the ‘no stopping’ and ‘no parking’ signage

It’s good safety practice for pedestrians to STOP, LOOK, LISTEN and THINK before crossing streets and busy intersections. Students and families, please remember to cross at crosswalks and marked intersections and never jaywalk. Avoid being a distracted pedestrian – be alert and attentive by putting your mobile devices away and removing headphones and earphones.

CAA reminds families and cyclists that bicycles are considered, by law, a vehicle on the road and cyclists must obey the same rules when travelling on the road. If you dismount and walk alongside your bike, you’re considered a pedestrian and have the same rights as a pedestrian.

The combined number of risky behaviours at Gull Lake Public School during the CAA School Zone Safety Assessment is 121.  Detailed results can be found here.

Learn more at caask.ca/schoolzonesafety and download the CAA Youth Safety booklet.

For more information contact: 
Angel Blair
CAA School Zone Safety and CAA School Safety Patrol Coordinator
CAA Saskatchewan
306.216.7362
angel.blair@caask.ca

Bonnie Lingenfelter
Regional Bylaw Enforcement Officer
306.672.3361
regionalbylaw@gmail.com

Dawnette Peterson
Town of Gull Lake Administrator 
306.672.3361
gulllaketown.admin@sasktel.net
306.672.3361