Spoltlight on school road safety | Oamaru News | Local News in Oamaru

With kids back at school this week, Oamaru police are being kept busy in a crackdown on road safety around schools.

Highway Patrol Senior Sergeant Peter Muldrew said a district-wide road campaign targeting excessive speed around schools and school bus routes will begin next week, in sync with the school year.

"It's a new term and a new start for some students, so we need to be extra careful with our driving habits around schools," he said.

"Some children will have received a new bike for Christmas and will be riding these to school for the first time, so please be aware of children on bikes."

Police will be using both speed cameras and lasers to enforce speed limits within the school zones around North Otago, which are within 250m of the school.

Drivers travelling at 5km/h  or more over the posted speed limit will be issued an infringement notice, Mr Muldrew said.

Police are also monitoring school bus routes and enforcing the 20km/h  restriction, which applies to vehicles passing a stationary school bus that has stopped to pick up, or let off students.

For Fenwick Primary School Principal Lloyd Bokser, getting his pupils to and from school safely is one of his greatest concerns.

Yesterday afternoon, he was in front of the school supervising the pedestrian crossing there.

"Road safety is our biggest worry because of the amount of roads we have around us," he said. "We are especially on guard on wet days."

Fenwick School is surrounded by roads on three sides. Every morning and afternoon, the three crossings are supervised by staff or parents. The school made a "drop and drive" zone in 2006, which provides a safe area where parents can pick-up and drop-off their children.

In the 11 years Mr Bokser has been principal, there has not been an accident at the school. There had been a few close calls, but never on a pedestrian crossing.

"Most people are pretty good, but there are a few you have to glare at before they stop," he said.

The school reports the number plates of any particularly bad drivers they see to police, which Mr Bokser has only had to do a few times.

On Tuesday,  Mr Muldrew pulled over a motorist who had been travelling at 102km/h  in a 70km zone, which was also a school zone and had a school bus in the area.

Issued fines are  dependent on how fast a  motorist is travelling, but police can also  issue a $150 fine for anyone passing a stationary school bus at more than 20km/h. 

"Our aim is to prevent fatal and injury crashes involving children around schools," Mr Muldrew said.

"Children tend to think about one thing at a time, and not be so aware of other things happening around them, and can have difficulty judging the speed of moving vehicles.

"There are also many high school-age students who are new drivers, and it's important for them and the more experienced motorists to be aware of the risks."

The campaign will run for a  fortnight, ending February 17.