19 July 2013

The return of 40 zones

| johnboy
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Acting Superintendent of Traffic Operations Rod Anderson said the restrictions are in place between 8am and 4pm and warns that motorists who choose to ignore them will face tough penalties.

“It’s important to remember that children – our most vulnerable road users – can be unpredictable around traffic and are not always aware of road safety. The 40km/h speed limit is necessary in school zones because it gives motorists extra time to stop in an unexpected situation,” Acting Superintendent Anderson said.

“Thankfully, there were no incidents where children were harmed in school zones last term. We want to keep it that way, so we’re asking the community to stay vigilant and keep school zones safe.”

ACT Policing has visited every school zone on at least one occasion each term and they have promised to do the same in term three.

“Speed limits in school zones are there to ensure the safety of our children and we will continue to proactively target these vulnerable areas to make sure the message is getting through,” Sergeant Anderson said.

Last school term (29 April to 5 July 2013), 176 drivers received Traffic Infringement Notices and 90 drivers received cautions for speeding in ACT school zones.

During term one a driver who was caught speeding on College Street Bruce, adjacent Radford College. Police detected the driver travelling at 92km/h in a sign posted 40km/h school zone. He was issued with a Traffic Infringement Notice (TIN) for $1811 and the loss of six demerit points.

ACT Policing will continue to focus on speeding during the month of July as part of its multi-agency road safety strategy.

[Courtesy ACT Policing]

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“It’s important to remember that children – our most vulnerable road users – can be unpredictable around traffic and are not always aware of road safety.”

Isn’t it also important to remember that children are locked away inside or behind gates/fences between 9am and 3pm? Surely it’s time to conform to the NSW system, as there is no reason to have 40 zones between 10am and 2pm.

Oh wait, I forgot this is Canberra, where you can’t smoke, drink, stay up past dark, or have any fun whatsoever.
In that case, better make all residential streets 40 km/h zones full-time. In fact, I’d go one better and limit the national maximum speed limit to 60, because it’s safer…

Innovation said :

The problem with NSW is that many schools zones are along major road systems whereas Canberra schools are, dare I say it, better placed.

don’t disagree with the assertion, but, so..? just because a road is a ‘major system’ shouldn’t compromise the safety of vulnerable citizens. road users should learn to drive with respect. o wait, that shan’t ever happen…

A_Cog said :

peterh said :

how about they change all the other states to 40km/h zones, all day, like the ACT? kids will still be outside the gates during the day for excursions, etc.

Yep, I prefer the ACT system and think it’s better than the 8am-9:30am & 2:30pm-4pm system.

I agree. It’s easy to maintain 40k’s without taking eyes off the road but it takes longer to check time periods. The problem with NSW is that many schools zones are along major road systems whereas Canberra schools are, dare I say it, better placed.

A_Cog said :

peterh said :

how about they change all the other states to 40km/h zones, all day, like the ACT? kids will still be outside the gates during the day for excursions, etc.

Yep, I prefer the ACT system and think it’s better than the 8am-9:30am & 2:30pm-4pm system.

It’s less confusing, protects the naughty kids who will climb a fence without understanding the reasons for the rules and only costs the driver a few seconds. No brainer.

It’s possible to be distracted when driving past the “school zone” sign but generally if you’re going past a school you should be slowing down, the same way you slow down if you see small children playing in their front yard or on the footpath close to the road.

peterh said :

how about they change all the other states to 40km/h zones, all day, like the ACT? kids will still be outside the gates during the day for excursions, etc.

Yep, I prefer the ACT system and think it’s better than the 8am-9:30am & 2:30pm-4pm system.

how about they change all the other states to 40km/h zones, all day, like the ACT? kids will still be outside the gates during the day for excursions, etc.

Now that all our schools are fenced in, are they going to change school zones to start / finish times like NSW instead of all day?

So we see some tokenism for a week then normality resumes. Plod think a media release is high vis policing.

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