NSW Gov Report: 30kph 24/7 school zones

[AWD Chaser]

http://www.news.com.au/national/repo...-1226309359465

SCHOOL zones should be enforced up to 24 hours a day with even higher penalties for speeding, the NSW government has been urged by its own road-safety inquiry.
In a report commissioned by Roads Minister Duncan Gay, the NSW Parliament's Staysafe Committee will this week recommend sweeping changes following a six-month inquiry into the 40km/h school zones.

The joint standing committee, which is run by Liberal MP Greg Aplin and Nationals upper house MP Rick Colless, says the government should consider increasing the number of hours school zones are in operation across the state.

Any move to add more hours of operation of school zones as well as fines will be met with fierce opposition by motorists because one of the government's most popular election pledges was to reduce the number of revenue-raising speed cameras.

School zones with a 40km/h speed limit operate from 8.30am to 9.30am in the morning and 2.30pm to 4pm in the afternoon outside more than 3000 schools.

But the Staysafe report cites examples from the ACT - where school zones are enforced for eight hours a day - and South Australia, which has a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week regime.

Raphael Grzebieta, professor of road safety at UNSW's Transport and Road Safety Research unit, said the government should make school zones 24 hours and look at reducing speeds in school zones from 40km to 30km/h.

"Even at 40km we are travelling at 10km faster than Europe," he said. "It's a matter of saving lives or allowing people to travel at speeds which are dangerous to our children."

The report also recommends increasing fines for school zones - which are already at least $60 more than normal speeding fines - to pay for a rollout of flashing lights in all school zones.

It also calls on the government to increase enforcement in school zones, with many still not having fixed cameras.

Mr Gay said he could not comment on the 19 recommendations because he was yet to receive the report.

But he said he would "closely examine" all of them.

Harold Scruby, chairman of the Pedestrian Council of Australia, said the recommendations were "wonderful" but said motorists would reject 24-hour zones.

"You have to balance safety with mobility, so 12-hour speed zones, seven days a week, would be more acceptable," Mr Scruby said.

NRMA president Wendy Machin said the state's motorists were sick of being used as "cash cows" for state government projects.

"Motorists already feel a strong sense of entrapment about school zones," she said. "We would be disappointed should Duncan Gay move to introduce any of these recommendations."

The government earns about $60 million each year in fines for school zone speeding.

[Rockape]

There off there heads

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by Rockape

There off there heads

*snap*.. i came here to say that..

[Yellow_Festiva]

What a bloody joke..... what's next?? Mounting flashing lights and having baton twirling dancing girls fore and aft of each car to let people know it is moving???

Myself and my wife are school teachers.... perhaps some fines for parents are in order in all honesty....

[EDManual]

Why 7 days a week 24 hours, or even 12 hours a day!! When there is NO ONE THERE HOW CAN ANYONE BE HURT?!!!!

[cupic]

Originally Posted by EDManual

Why 7 days a week 24 hours, or even 12 hours a day!! When there is NO ONE THERE HOW CAN ANYONE BE HURT?!!!!

The only ones that are being hurt is the Govt Coffers

[FPV8U]

I live near a couple schools and can see no reason why i shouldn't be able to drive past them @ 50km/h when no students are present.

[BigAL_250]

Well, when it uses the example of SA's 24/7 school zones, they don't mention they only apply when children can be seen in or near the zone. Which seems to work well enough.

[EDManual]

Originally Posted by BigAL_250

Well, when it uses the example of SA's 24/7 school zones, they don't mention they only apply when children can be seen in or near the zone. Which seems to work well enough.

Well thats fair enough it it works like that! We use our brains! Sounds good!

[Yellow_Festiva]

Next it will be playgrounds, day-care centres, McDonalds, the cinema.....

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Next it will be playgrounds, day-care centres, McDonalds, the cinema.....

.... front of any house anywhere that has a child living, visiting or has ever been there in the past 10 years.


24 hour thing is the kind of stupidity that comes from idiots who get the car out of the garage after breakfast and have it back in before dinner time and then claim they are road experts. They wouldn't know what the roads are like when the street lights are on.

I would be happy if shook zone were in place 8am till 4 pm but that's it.
30kmh would be ok if the normL limit is 50 or 60. But if it's any higher I think 40 is a big enough drop in speed.

[The G6ET Spot]

I drive through 3 school zones on the Cumberland Highway up to 6 times a day. After 3.30 in the afternoon there is no one around so I fail to see why a 24 / 7 zone is required.

maybe they should go out and watch the way that some parents go about dropping of and picking up their children.

they must be on crack the way they go about it.

I see one father on a regular basis cross a 6 lane road at canley vale with his young son 100 metres from a set of lights.

If the unfortunate event happened that they were hit all hell would break loose, yet it is the stupid fathers actions that have put their lives in peril.

I cringe whenever I see them thinking what could happen.

[XR6Naranja]

And so the stupidity of the Government continues..

As if 40km/h wasn't slow enough? The stopping distance on 40km/h is like 2-5 meters..

and 24/7? most students in my surrounding area have left the school area by 3:30, so 15 minutes after school is out, besides one school which is used at the main bus bay area...

Why enforce a slower speed 7 days a week when it's not needed, by that logic we should all be going 10km/h because the road is a shared zone...

The intelligence of those who propose road laws was already low enough.

[GasoLane]

Two things in the OP's quoted post stand out.....

#1 "The NSW Parliament's Staysafe Committee will this week recommend sweeping changes following a six-month inquiry into the 40km/h school zones."
This is the group, who a few years ago, wanted to ban overtaking on ALL single lane in NSW. This would mean virtually all country roads in the state. Try driving up the Newell Hwy with being allowed to overtake anything!!

#2 "Even at 40km we are travelling at 10km faster than Europe,"
I'll agree to this comparison if they let us drive at Euro speeds on highways!

[wulos]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

#2 "Even at 40km we are travelling at 10km faster than Europe,"
I'll agree to this comparison if they let us drive at Euro speeds on highways!

You forgot to add that Australian road design / town development is completely different to Europe. If some of the footage I've seen of the roads in towns from Europe is anything to go by, I would suggest that even 30kph is completely inappropriate.
Australian laws SHOULD be designed for Australian conditions, NOT just copy & pasted from elsewhere.

[FPVGT500]

I think its about time I leave this ****hole and find a better country to live in, the term "We lived in the lucky country" should be used....

[fordv8!]

there should be speed cameras at ALL schools between hours of 6am to 6pm no questions asked . it is bloody disgracefull how many people speed through school areas...most times it stupid bloody parents whilst dropping there kids off or picking them up...pathetic

[EDManual]

^^^are you serious!? But what about when theres no one there and its plain for even a blind person to see (no parked cars on the 20metre wide road, in a country town that is completely dead of life, for example)?

[lorpy]

dig a hole gov and jump in it i say

[Jim Goose]

Oh dear lord.... new government... more of the same.....

The stupidity continues with no boundaries.

[pottery beige]

i cover the brake no matter where i am when i see little kiddies.. random little suckers they are.....

[wulos]

I think the big part of this announcement is in the following point.

The report also recommends increasing fines for school zones - which are already at least $60 more than normal speeding fines - to pay for a rollout of flashing lights in all school zones.

It also calls on the government to increase enforcement in school zones, with many still not having fixed cameras.

Clearly this "INITIATIVE"? is about raising funds, without the true focus being on road safety. If it was about road safety, then perhaps the roadsafe committee would also have commented / recommended changes higher up the hierachy of controls, such as
- Elimination Relocation of schools away from high volume / high risk locations. Such as on multi lane highways
- Isolation Construction of fencing around high risk schools to ensure that there is an effective barrier between traffic and pedestrians. Similar laws already exist and are used in addition to lower limits in construction zones
- Engineering In addition to the about barriers, ensure that schools are designed with appropriate parking / pick up areas well away from high risk traffic. I do remember reading somewhere that a good majority of accidents involved parents picking up children rather then a third party, passing the school travelling elsewhere.

I suppose we should be thankful that they haven't also recommended changing all school uniforms to high visibility / reflective with a flag on pole stitched into a hat that all school children should wear.

For the safety nazi's out there, please note that I am definitely NOT against safety. I am however very much against morality of those that conduct these "studies" that are focused on the easy answers. ie what is quickest / easiest / least expensive for us(ie the committee, NOT those that have to live with these answers long term).

[wulos]

I prob should make comment that I haven't seen the entirity of the report. It may contain other recommendations other than the ones that have been reported upon.

[sexyxe]

Out of control.

One country does something, then they become the standard, then a bit of one-upmanship comes along and they trump it. Next thing you know, you have 30km/h 24/7. Think of the school holidays! Christ!

[Uncle Tone]

Cash grab. Not about safety.

[Jim Goose]

Common Sense preveils?????!!?!?!!?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-2...jected/3911014

24-hour school zone speed limit rejected

Posted March 25, 2012 09:24:37
There were calls for permanent 40km per hour speed limits. Photo: There were calls for permanent 40km per hour speed limits. (ABC TV)

A New South Wales parliamentary committee looking at road safety says it has rejected calls for the introduction of permanent 24-hour speed limits in school zones.

The joint standing committee Staysafe received almost 30 submissions in its examination of school zones.

Nationals MLC Rick Colless, who is deputy chair of the committee, says there were suggestions of making the 40-kilometre-an-hour rule for school zones apply around the clock.

Mr Colless says when the committee gives its report to Parliament this week, it will not recommend a 24-hour speed limit for school zones.

New South Wales Roads Minister Duncan Gay says there is no need to introduce an around-the-clock limit.

"All the recommendations of the committee when they finally get to the Government will be examined fully," he said.

"But I've got to say off the top of my head I'm not overly excited about extending the hours in school zones.

"Twenty-four hours to me just seems way too long especially when children aren't there."

Mr Colless would not say whether the committee will recommend any extension to the school zone hours or whether it wants to see fines increased.

He says one important recommendation his team will make is that planners of new estates ensure that schools are built well away from homes to reduce the chance of children being hit.

[Kevaclone]

QLD did a trial of this in a few selected school zones a few years ago. Morayfield Primary School was one, the reason for the trial was that the Govt were concerned about those children who play in the school grounds outside of school hours. Anyone knows the only kids playing on school property outside school hours are the bloody vandals because the schools are locked up and patrolled by security who chase away anyone in there

The REAL reason was evident every Sunday afternoon. And they were doing a roaring trade with multiple cars pulled over for the entire time they were there

As wulos said. A proper safety strategy and REAL safety measures will significantly reduce the risks. That includes One Way barricaded pickup/dropoff zones where parents have to drive though single file and no one has to cross the roadway

30kph 24/7 is just going to be a money making scheme

[|Nate]

There's a point where it becomes too much, if they made the school I work at always 40/30 km/h then I could see a HUGE uproar from motorists and no benefits in safety. But it's equally ironic to see that my school is on the corner of two big 4 lane roads, one being the road to the industrial estate meaning lots and lots of huge trucks, and one being just a big road for more cars. There's never been one road accident involving a child from the school on these roads.

These blanket rules for schools shouldn't be put into place because not every school needs it, I'm sure some do require upgraded safety, but it should be more huge 40 signs painted on the road, flashing led signs, and a police presence to enforce it during school rush hours. A blanket 30 km/h is just going to make everyone speed up if anything.

[xisled]

Most schools zones in Vic are all marked as 40ks zones all the time. you get a few that are on main roads that have variable zones during school hours. But the ones in normal streets are marked as 40ks.

[Jim Goose]

Cough.... governement has responded saying it wont be recommending the change....