Nearly One in Three (31%) Ontario Parents Consider School Zones Unsafe

Toronto, ON, August 31, 2017 — A new Ipsos poll for CAA SCO has found that nearly three in ten (31%) Ontario parents of school-aged children consider road safety in their child’s school zone to be unsafe. About half (49%) describe their child’s school zone as ‘moderately safe’ in terms of road safety, while only two in ten (20%) think it’s ‘very safe.’

While perceptions do not differ significantly by the age of the child, density of the local population or school infrastructure (the presence of parking lots, stop signs, ‘Children crossing’ signs, etc), they do vary by traffic volume: half (50%) of parents living in high-traffic areas consider their child’s school zone to be unsafe, compared to 32% of parents in areas with regular traffic, and 15% of parents in low-traffic areas. 

Perceptions of safety are also impacted by seeing dangerous driving or pedestrian behaviours inside school zones. Four in ten (41%) parents say they have seen or heard a dangerous road safety related incident happen in their child’s school during drop-off or pick-up. The most frequently witnessed incidences around schools include:

• Adult pedestrians using their cellphone while crossing the street: 43% of parents have witnessed this, 62% say it occurs often;
• Adult pedestrians crossing at an unsafely uncontrolled midblock: 42% have witnessed this, 60% describe it as frequent;
• Drivers double parking when dropping children off: 39% have seen incidents of double parking, 62% say it’s frequent;
• Drivers speeding: 38% of parents have seen this in their school zones, 60% say it’s frequent;
• Drivers stopping in undesignated areas, blocking vision of motorists and/or pedestrians: 37% have seen this, while 62% say it happen frequently.

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between April 6 and April 10, 2017, on behalf of CAA SCO. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 Ontario parents of school-aged children (kindergarten through grade 8) was interviewed. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ±3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Ontario parents of school-aged children (kindergarten through grade 8) been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Vice President, Canada
Ipsos Public Affairs
+1 416 324-2002
[email protected]

About Ipsos Public Affairs

Ipsos Public Affairs is a non-partisan, objective, survey-based research practice made up of seasoned professionals. We conduct strategic research initiatives for a diverse number of Canadian American and international organizations, based not only on public opinion research, but elite stakeholder, corporate, and media opinion research.

Ipsos has media partnerships with the most prestigious news organizations around the world. In Canada, Ipsos Public Affairs is the polling partner for Global News. Internationally, Ipsos Public Affairs is the media polling supplier to Reuters News, the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. Ipsos Public Affairs is a member of the Ipsos Group, a leading global survey-based market research company. We provide boutique-style customer service and work closely with our clients, while also undertaking global research.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. Ipsos ranks fourth in the global research industry.

With offices in 88 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across five research specializations: brand, advertising and media; customer loyalty; marketing; public affairs research; and survey management.

Ipsos researchers assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media and they measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of €1,782.7 million in 2016.