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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