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Council Takes Road Safety In School Zones Seriously

The potential for serious road trauma involving school children continues to be an issue of community concern in the Yass Valley.

Young children can behave impulsively and unpredictably around traffic and their spontaneous actions can over-ride any road safety knowledge imparted to them by parents and teachers. It is important therefore that when driving in the vicinity of the local schools, that motorists slow down and obey all traffic rules and parking signs, especially during peak drop off and pick up times.

The Yass Valley Road Safety Officer, Mark Foran suggests the following steps that motorists can take to help ensure the safety of our children in these areas;

• Obey the 40k/hr speed zone around the schools.
• Obey all advisory and parking signs. These signs are there to save lives.
• Ensure all school aged children travel in the rear of your vehicle and are safely secured in a correctly fitted seat belt.
• Ensure children get in and out of the car using the rear kerb side ‘safety’ door..
• Never call to children from across the road. Teach them to wait for you to come to them.

Talk about what they should do if you are not there on time.

“Parking correctly around schools is paramount to safety. Drivers who park in bus zones, make illegal U turns, double park and disregard parking signs increase the chance of a child being hit by a car”, Mr Foran said.

Remember, children are vulnerable road users. They are at risk at all times in the traffic environment because of their size. Accordingly, Council Officers and Police will continue to focus efforts on patrolling school zones on school days to enhance road safety of children.

Contact details
Yass Valley Council
Tel: 02 6226 1477
Fax: 02 6226 2598
Council@yass.nsw.gov.au

© 2008 Yass Valley Council
This page: http://www.yass.nsw.gov.au/news/pages/8065.html