Children Let Down by Government

Cyclists are not the only ones to have been let down by the police and in fact more so by the Government, but school children have too. These children are often cyclists, but also the most vulnerable road users.

The Police will be unaware of the near misses outside schools that many of us have witnessed. Parents are often reluctant to report near misses to police as they may be feeling guilty for not having protected the children properly or the vehicle that endangered the children is gone before they managed to recover from the shock. If one of the near misses was reported, it seems very unlikely that it would be recorded.

Having spent many years picking up and collecting my children from our local primary school in Swannanoa, North Canterbury, I am well aware of the dangers children face and have myself seen many near misses. In fact if you surveyed parents at schools, you would find that there are stories that many a parent or child recounts, having witnessed dangerous situations on the road. At Swannanoa School there is the added danger of a 100km/h speed limit outside the gates. Yes, whatever the time of the day, the 100km/h speed limit is the legal speed. Many drivers slow down during busy times and even whilst children are at school, but there are plenty of others who know their rights. But should the rights be for those who endanger the children by speeding past them or should it be the child or in fact any vulnerable road user, who is protected? I vote in favour of the vulnerable road user and this is easily introduced with a National School Speed Limit of 40km/h or less.

How can this country ever lose its reputation of dangerous drivers, if it is not tackled outside schools where our most vulnerable citizens are learning to deal with daily danger on our roads? Education about the dangers is a very good start, but not enough, as many parents have witnessed. Making it compulsory for drivers to slow down outside schools, at the very least during busy times, will give children a chance to safely get on their way, whilst they are at their most distracted. Unbelievably in 2011 this is not yet the case. If a National Speed Limit of 40km/h or less outside schools was introduced, drivers would only have to slow for a very small part of their journey.

The Government is obviously keen to improve their road toll. Whilst figures are currently down on last year’s toll, there is still an upward trend with pedestrians and cyclists casualties. Whilst I was looking this up I came across a link to the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety. This shows pictures of happy children from multicultural backgrounds giving the thumbs up to a bright yellow road safety tag and photos of eminent individuals whom I assume are all showing their support. The NZTA should be very proud of being associated to this; however the United Nations recommends a 30km/h speed limit outside schools and children’s play areas! So what are the Government doing, I hear you ask? Oh they are sitting on their hands, spending a fortune on assessments of whether a speed limit will work. Of course it will as long as it is rigorously policed. Meanwhile there are schools throughout this country where parents and children are dealing with near-misses, that hopefully don’t become a road toll statistic. The United Nations headline to the website is Wear, Believe, Act. Well I Believe and am happy to Wear, but it is up to the Government, especially our Transport Minister Steven Joyce to Act.

ENDS

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