With the school year now in full swing, the City of Canterbury Bankstown are reminding motorists why it’s important to take extra care in and around school zones.

With over 55,000 school students in Canterbury-Bankstown it’s critical that we keep everyone of them safe travelling to and from school.

Local school principal, Rene Demof, said road safety is not just about motorists following the road rules, but also teaching children safe practices.

“We try to be proactive in reducing the number of school zone offences… every morning and afternoon our staff are monitoring the drop-off and pick-up zones and reminding parents of the rules. We also conduct regular road safety chats with parents and children to ensure they understand the dangers and how to minimise them,” said the Wiley Park Public School Principal.

“As our school is on a main road, it is important that the children are aware of their surroundings, and this can be done by parents leaving their cars at home and walking their kids to school.

“Even if families are not in walking distance from the school, we encourage them to park in streets that aren’t as busy and walk from there, this will reduce traffic and offences, as well as give them a chance to come in and be part of the school community.”

Mayor Khal Asfour said ensuring children are getting to and from school safely is most important.

“By simply following the road rules, we as a community are prioritising children’s safety,” he said.

The first week back at school saw a considerably low number of school zone offences, which the Mayor said was “a great start”.

“Our officers only issued 27 fines for school zone offences during the first week back in 2020, the majority for disobeying ‘no parking’ signs,” Mayor Asfour revealed.

“It is concerning that most offenders were actually the parents of the very children our laws have been introduced to protect.

“It’s easy to avoid a fine – our children are our future, so do the right by them.”