More than 1000 drivers have been detected breaking the law in school zones – some at high speeds – during a state-wide traffic operation.
Operation Compliance 4 – which ran on September 10 – involved Traffic & Highway Patrol officers working alongside local police, stopping drivers for mobile phone, school zone and seatbelt offences.
In total, 1023 people were detected for school zone offences, including speeding through the 40km/h speed zones, 934 were caught on their mobile phones, while 308 were stopped for not wearing a seatbelt.
NSW Police Traffic & Highway Patrol Commander, Assistant Commissioner John Hartley, said drivers still took risks yesterday despite the high-visibility operation.
“Yesterday’s operation saw police undertake high-visibility patrols, yet motorists were still caught blatantly breaking the law.
“Compliance addressed the three key issues for road users in; drivers using mobile phones, motorists not wearing seat belts, and offences in school zones – all aimed at reducing the road toll.
“Our focus in school zones is about making sure that children, parents, teachers and support staff all get to and from school safely every day. To have drivers double parking, speeding or using phones whilst driving in school zones poses a significant threat to safety.
“We know that mobile phone use while driving is a key risk behaviour for road users, however, amazingly we detected more than 900 drivers on their mobile phones yesterday.
“Similarly with seat belts, it is a fairly simple task and a key to safety to put on a seat belt, however officers still intercepted over 300 motorists not wearing one.
“Traffic and Highway Patrol will continue to run similar operations to ensure all motorists get the message; distraction, speed and not wearing a seatbelt puts yourself and others at serious risk on our roads.’’
