Cochrane RCMP is reminding everyone to slow down come Sept. 1, as school zones will be in effect again.

Every town has their own school zone regulations, in Cochrane you must slow to 30km/h from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on school days, school zones are not in effect on weekends, holidays, and over the summer.

Cochrane RCMP Constable Jennifer Brewer says traffic enforcement has a very low tolerance for any kind of speeding within a school zone, even if it’s just a few km/h over.

“You'll see people being pulled over for a lot lower speeds than you might normally see,” she says. “The fines and demerits for speeding in school zones depends on how much faster than 30km/h you are going”

Const. Brewer says there are also different fines for passing in a school zone, crosswalks are also a major issue too.

“One big thing that we always have complaints about are crosswalks, and if you go through a crosswalk any time of the year when there’s a pedestrian already in the crosswalk it's a $776 fine. If the pedestrian is waiting to go, and you do not stop and let them, you're looking at $155 to $233 fine.”

She shares pedestrian safety also has a flip side, those crossing the road must exercise caution and pay attention just as much as motorists.

“We still get the pedestrians that don’t wait, so once they hit the button they go right away. If there's a vehicle almost in the crosswalk they aren’t going to have time to react. In some instances we are not able to issue any driving infractions because the pedestrian did not give the vehicle a chance to stop”

Const. Brewer stresses anyone on a bicycle, skateboard, or scooter must dismount and walk across the crosswalk.

There are also school zones within Cochrane that are also playground zones, which are seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. until one hour after sunset.