School Bus Signage Trial Underway

Queenstown Lakes District Council is trialling new signage on school buses in the Queenstown area as a way to remind drivers to slow to 20km/h when passing a bus that has stopped for children.

The trial will run during the first half of Term Two and forms part of the Council’s ongoing work with schools, police and bus operators to promote safe and sustainable travel to and from school. It’s also one of many measures the Council has been working on to raise awareness about bus safety following an accident last year where a 7 year old child was injured when crossing to the bus stop.
“Many drivers still don’t seem to realise that it’s the law to slow down to 20km/h when passing a stationary school bus picking up or dropping off children. We also have a high number of tourist drivers in this district, which is why it’s so important that we work together to get the `slow down’ message across,” QLDC Chief Engineer Ulrich Glasner says.

The signage will make the speed limit requirement much more visible to passing drivers, clearly reminding them to reduce their speed.

“Reducing the speed of passing vehicles on both sides of the road dramatically reduces crash rates. It also increases the chance of a child surviving an injury if they are hit by a vehicle,” Mr Glasner says.

Local school bus provider, Go Bus is very supportive of the trial, Manager David Rutledge says. “We want to do all we can to make travel safer for children and we’re right behind the idea of getting the message out in the place where it matters the most.”

The Council will also be carrying out speed surveys during the trial to measure the impact of the sign in slowing down the speed of passing vehicles.

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