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School crossing safety

Keeping children safe

Speed zones, pedestrian crossings and parking restrictions around schools are there to improve the movement of traffic during peak times and maximise safety for children and all road users.

You can help by obeying road rules and allowing enough time to drop off and pick up of your child.  Children are vulnerable and subject to acting on impulse. It is vital that adults lead by example and set good road safety practices when crossing roads.

Five tips around schools:

  1. Allow enough time to take your child to the school gate safely. Consider parking a few streets away and walking your child the rest of the way to school.
  2. Obey all traffic control signs and the directions of the school crossing supervisor.
  3. Plan with your child as to when and where they can be picked up or dropped off safely. Find locations where it is safe to get out of the car and cross the road.
  4. Where available, always cross at a supervised school crossing even if it is further away,
  5. Never call children from across the road.

For more information see our School Crossing Safety information booklet  (pdf, 2MB).

Supervised crossings were introduced in the 1970s to reduce risks to our children. Research shows that young children do not have the skills and experience to be safe in traffic on their own:

  • They are small and cannot be seen easily by drivers.
  • They cannot immediately tell where sounds are coming from.
  • They may not take any notice of what is going on outside their immediate field of vision.
  • They cannot reliably judge the speed of vehicles.
  • They do not have a well-developed sense of danger.
  • They do not understand traffic laws.

Traffic and parking around schools can cause significant issues. The increased school traffic during drop-off and pick-up times, combined with possible exposure to dangerous driver behaviour, can put children at risk. 

VicRoads has some great resources that will provide ideas for you and the school to encourage safe traffic behaviour.

To help children understand school crossing rules, download the colouring sheet with helpful school crossing rules.

School crossing rules colouring sheet

Parking and traffic controls around schools play an important part in keeping children safe. 

These controls ensure the crossing supervisor has a clear field of vision in all directions and can identify possible hazardous traffic conditions. 

Some of the parking controls include:

  • No stopping within 20m on the approach side of a crossing.
  • No stopping within 10m on the departure side of a school crossing.
  • No stopping within 10m of an intersection (unless signs say you can).

Here’s an explanation of some of the signs around your child's school and local area.

No Stopping

  • You are not permitted to stop, unless to avoid a collision or obey a traffic control device.
  • No driver/passenger may get into or out of the vehicle in a No Stopping area.
  • No Stopping signs applying during school times may also be in surrounding streets and are to assist with safe traffic flows.

No Parking

  • You may stop briefly to pick up or drop off passengers.
  • You must not leave your vehicle unattended.
  • If you are more than 3m away from your vehicle it is considered to be unattended.

Bus Zone

  • A driver must not stop on a bus stop, or within 20m before the bus stop sign and within 10m after the sign.

    School Zone

  • All school speed limits across the State are clearly signposted. Look out for the speed signs near schools and slow down to improve safety for children.

Children Crossing

  • When the flags are displayed at a children’s crossing, you must stop for pedestrians who are waiting to cross or who have started crossing.
  • You must remain stopped until the crossing is clear.
  • These rules apply even if there is no crossing supervisor. 

Council employs dedicated and friendly people to work as school crossing supervisors within the community. School crossing supervisors assist pedestrians of all ages to safely cross busy roads at the peak hours of 8.15am to 9am and 3.15pm to 4pm, Monday to Friday. 

If you are looking for a rewarding job keeping the children of Maroondah safe when they are walking to and from school, we are interested in talking to you. 

If you are interested, please lodge an online application on our Careers at Maroondah page

30/06/2017
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