Illegal parking puts children’s lives at risk
Wednesday, 3 April 2019
Inner West Council has developed a ‘safety around schools’ campaign designed to promote safer road user practices by parents in School Zones.
The campaign highlights to parents the risks associated with illegal parking in School Zone, which is why Council and Police take a 'zero tolerance' approach.
Council parking officers and Police regularly patrol schools across the Inner West local government area.
As part of the campaign, local schools were invited to partner with Council. Partner schools can access a range of free resources, including postcards, road safety audits, A-frame stands and banners.
Partner schools were asked to offer information about School Zone offences and penalties with their parent community, using the new campaign branding.
This campaign officially commenced on 25 February. Council parking officers handed out educational postcards to parents on their first visit to a school, the next day warnings were issued for any school offences, and on the upcoming third and any subsequent visits, offences committed incurred the appropriate penalty.
Children are small, harder to see, behave unpredictably and are extremely vulnerable, which is why parents need to take extra care when driving and parking around School Zones.
Council has developed this campaign and work with schools to address driver behaviour that places children at risk of injury.
Some of the problems illegally parked cars cause include:
• blocking the line of vision for all other drivers, pedestrians and cyclists
• forcing children onto the road
• obstructing the flow of traffic
• increasing the chance of a crash or injury.
This campaign reinforces that road safety is everyone’s responsibility and stop the practice of illegal parking in Schools Zones.
For a print quality image, contact the Communication team.
For media enquiries, contact Elizabeth Heath | Media and Communications Coordinator
P: +61 2 9392 5334 | E: elizabeth.heath@innerwest.nsw.gov.au