Motorists are being urged to slow down and take extra care on the roads, as thousands of Western Australian school students return to the classroom this week.
School zones across the State will be fully operational, with speed limits restricted to 40km/h during designated drop-off and pick-up times.
Last year, police issued 37,428 infringements to drivers caught exceeding the speed limit in a school zone.
Geraldton topped the list of zone speeders with 1,296 infringements issued, followed by Scarborough (843) and Melville (573) in the Perth metropolitan area.
Police and Road Safety Minister Michelle Roberts said the number was “staggering”.
“This is not an acceptable figure,” she said.
“It means that the lives of our children were put at risk thousands of times by people too impatient or too distracted to obey the law.
“Don’t be that person, I ask drivers everywhere to be mindful of the 40km/hour speed limit around schools.
“We need drivers to switch on and put children’s lives first.”
The WA Police Force will again be running targeted operations with Traffic Enforcement Group officers, local police and mobile speed cameras around schools to enforce the 40km/h speed limit.
Operating times for school zones in Western Australia are 7.30am to 9am, and 2.30pm to 4pm on school days.
