Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer Melanie Suitor said that road crashes account for 58% of all accidental deaths among children aged 5 - 14 years old.

“Children are vulnerable road users. They are at risk in the traffic environment because of their size, their difficulty in judging speed and distance as well as the fact that they may behave unpredictably.

“Motorists will need to pay extra attention with schools reopening as there are more buses and cyclists on the roads, young pedestrians crossing the streets and vehicles parking. Over the long summer break it is easy to forget just how busy the areas around schools can get.

“I urge all motorists throughout the Shires to pay extra attention over the next few weeks to make the roads safer for children,” Ms Suitor said.

More than one million children in New South Wales travel to and from school each day by car, bike, bus or as pedestrians and each form of transport poses potential hazards.

There are 40km/h school speed zones in existence around all schools in the State and they are operational between 8 to 9.30am and 2.30 to 4pm on school days. Police will be targeting school zones to ensure traffic obeys the 40km/h speed limit when school returns.

“It is important that drivers slow down in school zones so they are in a better position to react to the unpredictable behaviour of school children as well as the busy traffic environment,” Ms Suitor said.

But the 40km/h school zone speed limit alone is not enough to keep children safe.

“Parents and carers can help students remain safe by following some simple safety steps and by regularly reinforcing important road safety messages with their children,” Ms Suitor said.

Parents and cares should;

ä Always make sure your children wear a seatbelt when travelling in a car - around 50% of child road casualties are passengers.