New measures in place to reduce speeding

Traffic police are confident flashing speed limit signs placed in school zones around Albany last week helped reduce speeding offences in the first week back to school, but said it would take time to compare with data recorded from previous years.

Over Monday and Tuesday, traffic police conducted 68 school zone patrols in the Great Southern, stopping 81 vehicles and issuing 27 speeding infringements and 33 cautions.

Great Southern Traffic Enforcement Group’s Sergeant Peter May said early indications were the public had responded well to the return to school.

“We’re unsure of whether there is a correlation to the new signage and whether it is averting speeding drivers,” he said.

“I’m hoping so and it’s something we’ll look at over time.

“Certainly my patrol officers are reporting that it is much more difficult to catch people speeding, so early evidence is that the signs are assisting in getting people to slow down, which is fantastic.”

Police throughout the region applied more than 50 hours to policing school zones in the first two days of term.

Sgt May said speeding was “hard to excuse” with highly visible school zone signs, which operate Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 9am and 2.30pm to 4pm.

“It’s hard to plead ignorance with the new signs, at the end of the day there is no excuse for speeding,” he said.