“Just a couple of kilometres over the speed limit could be the difference between being able to stop in time or not at all,” said Tara McCarthy, Deputy Secretary of Safety, Environment and Regulation at Transport for NSW.
She says children are some of our most vulnerable pedestrians and their safety should be everyone’s top priority.
“I urge drivers to remain vigilant in school zones by sticking to the speed limit and obeying the rules,” Ms McCarthy said
“Please be particularly careful around bus stops, school crossings and Kiss and Ride Zones where children are often present in higher numbers.
“When bus lights flash, it is vital everyone slows down to 40km/h because this means a bus is picking up or dropping off children.”
School zones are generally in place from 8-9.30am and from 2.30-4pm, and motorists who don’t obey the rules face heavy fines and demerits.
NRMA joined the call for motorists to take extra care, with spokesperson Peter Khoury saying people still are not getting the message that school zones operate on all gazetted school days, even on student-free days.
“The fines are justifiably high because it’s never okay to speed around a school, but if you’re caught in a school zone today, you will receive a steep fine as well as double demerits,” he said.
NRMA analysis has also found the total number of school zone fines increased more than 25 per cent in 2022. Almost 200,000 speeding fines in school zones were issued in between July 2021 and June 2022, compared with just over 157,500 in the same period the year before.
