Road safety reminder as schools return
Published on 24 January 2023
Please take extra care on the roads next week, with children returning to school.
Parents of seven-year-old Matilda, Adam and Amy, are grateful that Tea Tree Gully Council community safety officers visit local schools to share road safety messages with parents and children.
“I think it means that the community are being looked after - instead of dealing with the problems after something unfortunate occurs,” said Amy who takes every opportunity to teach their three children about road safety.
And it seems the message is getting through to Matilda (pictured).
“Sometimes I look twice and sometimes I look three times just in case” when crossing the road, she said.
If your child attends a local school, you’ll most likely see some of our community safety team handing out road safety education brochures and monitoring traffic and parking at school drop-off and pickup times, said Laura Watson, community safety manager at the City of Tea Tree Gully.
“Our team are easy to spot as they wear bright orange vests. They work closely with schools and SAPOL to help improve road and pedestrian safety around schools by making sure people follow the Australian road rules.
“However, we can’t be everywhere at once. It’s important that drivers, cyclists and pedestrians take the right steps to protect kids around schools, where roads can get congested, making it more dangerous and even harder to see children,” said Laura.
Report school road safety concerns
Our community safety officers are friendly and professional and are happy to be approached, while on duty, by parents and carers to chat about any school road safety concerns.
Parking issues can also be reported via the report it/request it section on our website.
To report dangerous driving, contact SAPOL.
School road safety tips
- Allow enough time to safely take your child to the school gates. Park a few streets away if possible and walk your child to school – it’s great exercise and an opportunity to teach them road safety rules on the way.
- Talk to your child about signs, traffic lights, pedestrian crossings and safe places to get in and out of your vehicle. Make sure you practise what you preach!
- Teach your child to cross the road safely: Stop at the kerb, look and listen for traffic, and then decide whether it’s safe to cross.
- Follow speed limits and parking signs in and around school zones to help improve traffic flow and prevent obstructions. This includes not parking or stopping at the side of a road marked with a yellow line.
A Community Safety Officer on duty at a local school school crossing.