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"It's a shared responsibility."

These are the words of Marc Tanguay, director of Pointe-Claire's Inspection–Sécurité publique/Public Security and Inspection (ISP) department, when describing traffic safety and the ISP’s focus around schools.

The new school year is around the corner, and the safety of children is a top concern, not just for parents but for ISP as well. With students converging on schools by foot, by bike, by bus, and by car, everyone has a role to play in ensuring safe travel.

Pointe-Claire's ISP is active in trying to keep school zones safe by being a visible presence. Tanguay describes how he may start a shift: “I'm in the middle of the street with my gloves and my whistle, and I'm controlling traffic, [...] directing people to cross at the right place—you'll tell people ‘don't cross here.’ Go to the light or go to the intersection. So we'll actually be a physical presence if we have to make any interventions.”

The job of traffic safety goes beyond being a physical presence. Sitting on the city's Traffic Committee, Tanguay collaborates with the other members to determine what physical measures can be implemented to make the streets of Pointe-Claire safer for everyone. Measures such as crosswalks with flashing lights, bollards indicating crossing points, signage indicating "Corridor scolaire," radar units to remind motorists to slow down, and Winthrop’s new raised intersection are all measures designed to remind drivers that they are not alone on the roads.

Measures set out in the Coalition Avenir Québec's (CAQ) Road Safety Action Plan provide new tools and guidelines to be undertaken near schools: the lowering of the speed limit to 30 km/h in school zones, investing funds for municipalities to carry out safety development projects, and increasing fines and demerit points for infractions committed against vulnerable road users.

At the top of the list of recommendations, mobile photo radar is expected to roll out in 2027, with the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility of Quebec (MTQ) purchasing the units, which will be shared across the island. The Montreal Agglomeration Council and Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) will determine where they are to be installed, with the SPVM responsible for their implementation and calibration.

Changing the behaviour of pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers goes much further in improving road safety than punitive measures. Asked what he would most like people to know about keeping roads safe near school zones, Director Tanguay responded without hesitation: "I want people to take responsibility," he said. "Look both ways. [...] You have to make eye contact with the driver. Use your hands. Do a gesture. Say, ‘I'm going to cross the street.’ It's always better to cross when you have cars that are stopped in traffic.”

The list continued. Passengers should exit a vehicle on the side with a curb or sidewalk. Pedestrians should cross at crosswalks where they have priority. Cyclists should ride on the road with the flow of traffic, while pedestrians must walk on the sidewalk if one is available or on the road facing traffic if there is no sidewalk. Everyone needs to be able to see and hear what is happening around them—meaning no cellphones or earbuds. And finally, respect school buses.

The difference between driving safely in a school zone and driving recklessly is a time savings of seconds, not minutes. At 50 km/h, a car can travel a 500 m school zone in 36 seconds; at 40 km/h, it's 45 seconds; and at 30 km/h, it's 60 seconds.

Saving 24 seconds is not worth taking chances. According to the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals (CARSP), 9 out of 10 pedestrians survive an impact at 30 km/h, and just 2 out of 10 survive an impact at 50 km/h. And those are the statistics for pedestrians of all ages; the outcomes for children are worse.

In the case of road safety, respect is a two-way street. With 36 years of experience as both a police officer and the director of ISP, Marc Tanguay shares his motivation: “If you can send out any messages to parents like ‘Don't do U-turns and don't be on your cellphone’... Well, that's why it's so important what you do, because whoever you can catch [...] that's one more person maybe you saved, or one more kid that you avoided having getting hit by a car.”