At Rototuna High School, we are proud to have one of the highest numbers of students biking, walking, and scootering/ e-scootering to school in New Zealand. This is fantastic and is encouraged as it fosters student independence, fitness and health.
However, recently, student safety during the before and after school commute is something I have been thinking about as a new driver. It is important that everyone does their part to keep our school community safe.
As a new driver, I have noticed how students around me on bikes and scooters travel past at high speeds. Especially after school, there are so many students walking, crowding and waiting at the crossing, waiting for buses and lifts as they begin to make their way home. At this time the roads are busy.
This is also a time that the student parking area is especially busy. Before and after school there are vehicles constantly moving, turning, and reversing. Other new drivers and I have shared concerns about students that ride scooters and bikes, traveling on the road during this busy time.
When you travel at fast speeds, weave between moving cars, do not obey road rules, some even travelling on the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic it makes it really stressful for people who are driving.
It becomes difficult for drivers to see, and this increases the risk of an accident, especially if riding without a helmet on.
We encourage our biking and scootering students to:
Wear a helmet
Slow down when leaving and entering the school
Be mindful and courteous to those around you, including people and cars
Be patient and take your time
Student safety is one of our top priorities. Making these safe choices ensures everyone gets home safely each day. Please be mindful of everyone using the roads. I don’t want to experience any near misses as a newer driver. We all want to use the roads safely together and look after each other, so please do your part. Thank you
