‘Completely wrong’: BC RCMP clarifies school zone laws are not changing to 24-7

According to the BC RCMP, people should pay no mind to online rumours circulating that school zones are to be in effect 24-7 across Canada. 

Police say that these claims are simply online rumours and artificial intelligence (AI) generating misinformation.

“Some disreputable websites are claiming that all Canadian school zones will be in effect 24/7 starting July 1, 2025. These websites are completely wrong, and social media and AI are amplifying the misinformation,” said Corporal Michael McLaughlin with BC Highway Patrol. 

“School zones are a provincial jurisdiction. There are no sweeping changes coming for Canada.”

BC RCMP state that, according to the BC Motor Vehicle Act, school zones are in effect from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., unless otherwise stated on the school zone signage. During these hours the speed limit is 30 km/h. 

In addition to clarifying the current and ongoing school zone laws, BC RCMP issued a reminder to British Columbians to use best practices in fact-checking what they are seeing online, before believing it:

• Consider the source: Traffic law announcements come from the provincial government.
• Who has jurisdiction: Traffic laws are provincial, so a Canada-wide change to school zones would not happen without many public announcements
• Timing: Canada-wide traffic changes on short notice, and for no apparent reason, should be a red flag
• Sweeping, unrelated changes: Other suggested changes circulating online included advanced driver systems for all vehicles, tougher distracted driving penalties, impaired driving law updates, and changes to pedestrian zones. These are complicated issues, and bunching them all together should raise red flags

Furthermore, the BC Highway Patrol urges people to look to their provincial government when they see something suspicious on a disreputable “news” site or a friend’s social media rant. 

“A website you’ve never heard of, or Ned from Facebook, are not reliable sources,” said the BC Highway Patrol.