Zero tolerance for high school speedsters
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Landward councillor Willie Mackay has given his backing to a four-month police initiative to target motorists in the vicinity of all 29 secondary schools.
A member of the Northern Joint Police Board, Mr Mackay said these extra patrols will alert drivers that lower speed limits are in force when pupils are arriving at and leaving schools and that they must be obeyed.
“I would like to see the checks made discreetly, especially at morning breaks and lunchtimes when many of our schoolchildren are out and about making their way to their nearby homes or visiting a local shop or bakery,” he said.
“There have been many occasions that I have seen for myself where boy and girl racers like to exercise a bit of speed to impress the pupils at lunchtimes in front of the high schools of Wick and Thurso.
“It’s just not good enough and positive results obtained by Northern Constabulary will go a long way to making these roads safer for our schoolchildren and pedestrians.
“This can’t come quick enough for me – the message is quite clear: 20mph means 20mph.”
The extra activity follows feedback the force received at the Highland Youth Voice conference.
Young people taking part made it clear they were concerned about irresponsible driving around their schools, particularly with regard to speeding.
The speed checks are under way and will continue until the end of March 2013.
The results of the new clampdown will be fed back directly to the young people following analysis of the findings, so they can have a better understanding of what is happening around their schools.
Chief Superintendent Julian Innes said crashes involving young pedestrians around schools are very rare but he feels the force can work with local communities to make children feel safer.
“This enforcement action is a direct response to young people’s concerns,” he said. “I genuinely hope that no motorists are found to be speeding.”
