ONE of the region’s top cops has urged drivers to keep our most vulnerable road users in the front of mind as school returns this week.
Swan Hill police Senior Sergeant Michelle Kerley said officers from uniform and highway patrol would be patrolling school speed zones and school crossings as students returned for the new school year.
“It’s something we take very seriously because the price is too high to have a child injured,” Sen-Sgt Kerley said.
Road safety is something close to Sen-Sgt Kerley’s heart.
“When I was a child I was with a friend who walked onto the road and was hit and killed by a truck,” she said.
“That was before the days of the speed limits of 40k/h outside schools.
“You just never know.”
Speed limits around schools will now drop to either 40km/h or 60km/h in the mornings from 8am to 9.30am and afternoons from 2.30pm to 4pm, Monday to Friday.
Sen-Sgt Kerley acknowledged the 40km/h speed limit often felt slower in the country, but the movement of children near roadways was “unpredictable”.
“Kids can be unpredictable and never know when one might slip out so 40 is really important and we do like to enforce that,” she said.
“People can easily be 20km/h over the speed limit because they are doing 60 and not feel like they are speeding, but actually are.”
Sen-Sgt Kerley said there was “merit” to school speed limits being enforced even on weekends and after school hours.
“So people know to slow down in those areas the whole time rather than checking their watch for times,” she said.
“Some places in Melbourne have flashing signs that it’s school hours, so there is merit to having them 40 the whole time.”
She said a child being hurt was “just our worst days”.
“We will do everything we can to limit that risk,” Sen-Sgt Kerley said
“Having suffered tat damage in my childhood … it’s near and dear to my heart.
“I want to make sure no-one else goes through that.”
The Victorian Government urged drivers to be patient and to expect an increase in road, pedestrian and bicycle traffic at drop-off and pick-up times.
Some school speed zones are permanent, while others operate from 8am to 9.30am, and from 2.30pm to 4pm on weekdays, with reduced speeds of 40km/h or 60km/h in school zones until the end of the school term.
“School speed zones are designed to keep pedestrians safe by lowering the speed limit at peak times when children are travelling to and from school,” the government said.
“Regardless of whether a school is open or closed, all sign-posted 40km/h zones will still apply.”
