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Operation Cedar - Targetting Road Safety Around Schools


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Officers Target Road Safety Around Schools

Officers across the North East are focusing efforts on tackling road safety around schools as the new term begins.

The operation is being run as part of Operation Cedar (Challenge Educate Detect and Reduce) which aims to reduce casualties on roads across the North East and supports the longer-term vision of the North East Scotland Road Casualty Reduction Strategy.

Speeding and irresponsible parking in the vicinity of schools will be two areas that the officers will be focusing on. Additional patrols will also be carried out around school drop off and pick up times.

Chief Inspector Stewart Mackie said:

"The start of the new school term can be an exciting and busy time for parents and pupils and we want to ensure that our communities are kept as safe as possible during this period.

"Many families will be getting into new routines and we urge people to allow a little extra time for their journeys. Make sure you know the route you will be taking and that you have a safe place to park.

"Irresponsibly driving around schools risks lives and will absolutely not be accepted. Our officers will be targeting those who engage in this and taking action.

"We will be focusing on education and prevention and where drivers are parking illegally and inconsiderately suitable advice will be given.

"Children going to and from school are not always highly visible so I am urging motorists to please take a little extra care. Drivers should pay particular attention when driving along popular school routes and outside schools.

"We would urge parents and relatives who drive children to school to always obey the local parking restrictions. Do not park on the yellow zig zag lines or near junctions, do not obstruct driveways, do not park on double yellow lines or single lines during restricted times and when arriving and/or leaving school always check around you for pedestrians. Some children may be smaller than your vehicle, especially for those who drive large 4x4s.

"Always drive carefully in and around schools and at a speed that is within the limits. You do not need to drive at the maximum speed permitted. Children can be excited and distracted, especially at home time and so drivers should always exercise caution near schools.

"Road safety is a top concern for many parents and Police Scotland is fully committed to reducing incidents on our roads. They are thankfully very few in number and reducing them to zero should be our collective goal.

"Operation Cedar is an ongoing initiative and patrols will be carried out throughout the school year."

The road safety pages on the Police Scotland website can be found HERE.



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