The Minns Labor Government is calling on motorists to slow down to save lives, as school zones return to operation across the state from tomorrow, Monday 21 July.
School zones will be active from 8am to 9:30am and 2:30pm to 4pm on school days.
The government's plea follows the release of new data that reveals more than 183,000 school zone speeding offences were recorded in NSW in the last financial year.
Alarmingly, nearly 70 per cent (125,000+) occurred during active school zone hours - that's more than 340 drivers every day choosing to speed past schools and young children.
Since 2019, 106 pedestrians aged 5 to 16 years have been hit by vehicles in active school zones. Two children have been killed and 38 seriously injured.
One camera at Woodville Road in Chester Hill recorded more than 8,600 fines alone. One reckless driver was even caught doing 110km/h at this location during school zone hours.
The top five school zone speeding hotspots for 2024-25 were all in Sydney:
- Woodville Road, Chester Hill (Southbound) - 8,615 fines
- Victoria Road, Ryde (Eastbound) - 7,313 fines
- Princes Highway, Kogarah (Southbound) - 5,866 fines
- Hume Highway, Yagoona (Westbound) - 5,691 fines
- Cleveland Street, Moore Park (Westbound) - 5,307 fines
Regional NSW was not immune to the illegal and dangerous behaviour. The worst five locations:
- Pacific Highway, Gateshead (Southbound) - 3,288 fines
- Pacific Highway, Ourimbah (Northbound) - 2,970 fines
- Princes Highway, Wollongong (Northbound) - 1,636 fines
- Princes Highway, Wollongong (Southbound) - 1,299 fines
- Pacific Highway, Ourimbah (Southbound) - 929 fines
The Minns Labor Government continues to prioritise safety outside schools. Measures include:
- More than 6,800 school zone flashing lights now installed across NSW, including a new state-of-the-art signage trial near Newcastle
- Around 1,500 school crossing supervisors supporting 980+ schools
- Ongoing commitment to ensure every school zone has at least one set of flashing lights
Minister for Roads Jenny Aitchison said:
"School is back, and so are school zones, but the data we release today shows too many drivers haven't been getting the message.
"Over 125,000 people made the decision to speed in an active school zone last year. That's 125,000 drivers who made the selfish decision to put children's lives at risk.
"We need motorists to be alert and to slow down. There's no excuse for speeding around schools.
"As we head into the second half of the school year, I'm calling on every motorist to put safety first. Any death on our roads is one too many, and being a good role model around kids is the first step in shaping safe drivers for the future."
For more information on school zones, visit: transport.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/community/schools/school-zones
