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Road Safety Campaign: Children Wear 40km Speed Sign Backpacks Around Schools

The initiative aims to remind drivers to slow down in school zones.
Students at Junction Park State School were handed 40km speed sign backpacks as school holidays ends.
Australian Road Safety Foundation
Students at Junction Park State School were handed 40km speed sign backpacks as school holidays ends.

Students are wearing 40km speed sign backpacks in a new campaign to improve road safety in school zones.

The Safely Backpacks initiative was organised by the Australian Road Safety Foundation, designed to remind Brisbane drivers to obey the speed limit as students return to school for a new term.

"We understand that people are often in a rush to get somewhere, but it's not worth risking the life of anyone to get to work on time," Russell White, Founder and CEO of the ARSF, said.

"Every year thousands of motorists are caught speeding in school zones and endangering our communities, so take a moment, slow down and pay attention to your surroundings," White said.

There were 204 child pedestrian road fatalities in public areas, between 2001-2010.

Brisbane's Junction Park State School has made it compulsory for students to wear the Safely Backpacks.

Australian Road Safety Foundation

Christine Wood, Principal of Junction Park State School, has called out for all schools to become involved in the campaign.

"We're calling on our peers to use this opportunity to educate their students of the risks while giving them a practical solution to help keep them safe," Wood said.

"We want parents to feel safe when they send their child to school and are thrilled to be able to offer these to our students at no cost," she said.

Last year's Safety Stickers was a successful ARSF campaign which similarly used speed signs and stickers of children to transform bins into warnings for people to drive safely around schools.

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