Brimbank drivers are being urged to slow down around school zones after a spate of near-misses.
Crime prevention officer Matthew Mudie said drivers speeding through 40km/h zones had contributed to an increase in the number of near-accidents during school pick-up and drop-off times across the city.
Leading Senior Constable Mudie said drivers needed to remember that children could be unpredictable – crossing the road while not on school crossings or running in front of traffic.
Leading Senior Constable Mudie said these near-misses could have been tragedies. One girl had recently been struck by a car outside a Sunshine school. “She was taken to hospital, but fortunately suffered no significant injuries,” he said.
“The driver was actually doing everything right. It’s just the unpredictability of kids in these zones,” Leading Senior Constable Mudie said. “That’s why we ask people to take that extra bit of care.”
Leading Senior Constable Mudie said police often patrolled school zones.
“The highway patrol has been out there issuing tickets for double parking and speeding through school zones; we’ve been getting a lot of that,’’ he said.
“School zones are 40km/h for a reason; it’s to protect those who are most precious to us. Lift your right foot a little and take care.”
VicRoads introduced 40km/h speed limits during school pick-up and drop-off times in 2003 in a bid to avoid crashes and reduce their severity.
According to the Monash University Accident Research Centre, an 11 per cent reduction in speed reduces the chance of road deaths by
40 per cent.
Victoria Police statistics show there were five deaths in total on Brimbank roads in 2013. And 603 people were injured in road collisions in the municipality.
Meanwhile, data compiled by national insurer AAMI from 2012-13 has shown that Victoria’s drivers have the nation’s highest incidence of nose-to-tail accidents. Almost three out of 10 crashes in the state involved one car running into the back of another.
