The NSW Government is calling on motorists to slow down to save lives, as school zones return to operation this week.
School zones will be active from 8am to 9:30am and 2:30pm to 4pm on school days.
The government’s plea follows the release of new data that reveals more than 183,000 school zone speeding offences were recorded in NSW in the last financial year.
Nearly 70 per cent – or more than 125,000 offences – occurred during active school zone hours – that’s more than 340 drivers every day choosing to speed past schools and young children.
Since 2019, 106 pedestrians aged 5 to 16 years have been hit by vehicles in active school zones. Two children have been killed and 38 seriously injured.
Minister for Roads Jenny Aitchison said:
“School is back, and so are school zones, but the data we release today shows too many drivers haven’t been getting the message.
“Over 125,000 people made the decision to speed in an active school zone last year. That’s 125,000 drivers who made the selfish decision to put children’s lives at risk.
“We need motorists to be alert and to slow down. There’s no excuse for speeding around schools.
“As we head into the second half of the school year, I’m calling on every motorist to put safety first. Any death on our roads is one too many, and being a good role model around kids is the first step in shaping safe drivers for the future.”
