Kids put the brakes on drivers
4 May 2011
Pupils from Cornwall Park District School braved wind and rain this week to get their message across to drivers – slow down around their school.
The children stood on Green Lane West with placards and vests reminding drivers that a 40k/h school speed zone is operational on that stretch of road at school drop-off and pick times.
This activity was part of a ‘Slow down around schools’ campaign organised by Auckland Transport in partnership with the Police. The aim of the campaign is to make drivers aware that small increases over the speed limit can make a big difference. Many drivers think that, as long as they do not drive more than 10km/h over the speed limit, it is okay to exceed it.
This is not the case. Even small increases over the limit can be the difference between life and death. The probability of death for a pedestrian rises steeply from 10 per cent at an impact speed of 30 km/h to 70 per cent at 50 km/h. The risks for vulnerable pedestrians, such as young children, are higher.
For this reason the police regularly enforce a 4km/h speed tolerance around schools.
The children feel strongly about motorists speeding near their school, so they decided to get involved in the campaign. They had some thought-provoking and stern words for drivers:
Tessa: "Children bring the life and we don’t want them gone."
Amy: "We want to get the message to parents and drivers here and at other schools to slow down."
John: "We don’t want children to get hurt going to and from school."
Cerys: "The intersection near our school (Wheturangi Road and Green Lane West) is very busy and if drivers go too fast there, it is very dangerous for those trying to cross. We have a walking school bus that has to walk across that intersection."
Archie: "Adults are setting a very bad example when they go too fast and don’t stop at red lights and stuff. If adults follow the rules, so will the kids."
Stephen Lindfield, community transport leader central team at Auckland Transport, said, “I was really impressed with the way the children and teachers at Cornwall Park District School got so involved with the campaign. It was clear that having the children there to remind drivers of the need to slow down to 40km/h, on that stretch of road, was having the desired result.”
Some children got involved by creating artwork for a banner to hang on their school fence.
The 'Slow down around schools' campaign will run for four weeks with advertising on bus backs and billboards.