School Safety

School safety not only relates to the school environment but also to how children travel to and from school – by car, bicycle, bus, motorcycle or on foot. In March 2001 the Queensland School Transport Safety Taskforce was established to review current research and practice, seek community and stakeholder feedback and analyse road crash data in an effort to improve the safety of students travelling to and from school by road.

Issues covered by the taskforce included school zones, bus design and occupant protection, bus routes, student and driver behaviour and school environment. A range of recommendations included 30km/h school zones and seat belts in buses.

Since the release of the taskforce report a number of initiatives have been implemented in the school safety area including:

• The introduction of seatbelts on buses using steep and dangerous routes
• The release of draft School Environment Safety Guidelines document which has been developed as part of the Safe School Travel (SafeST) package to provide a systematic approach to the assessment and improvement of road safety near schools

A trial of 30km/h school zones was undertaken in 2002 but, after evaluation, was not adopted.

Road safety education in schools

Schools play an important role in developing responsible attitudes and hazard appreciation skills in children towards the use of the road and traffic environment as pedestrians, cyclists, car passengers and in the latter stages of school as drivers. However, it is important that parents and the community also share this role.

RACQ is involved in delivering road safety education in schools through presentations and information sessions at primary and secondary schools, e.g., Streetscene and the Car Buyer’s Guide. RACQ also provides financial assistance for the staging of Docudramas in secondary schools.