17 September 2025 | See disclaimer
Whether you travel to and from your children’s school by motor vehicle, bicycle or on foot, always practice school road safety.
As with all aspects of parenting, part of teaching your children proper road safety (both on the road and the footpath), is modelling positive safety behaviours.
These behaviours include when you’re:
- Driving in the car
- Driving in a school zone
- Dropping off and picking up kids from school
- Driving near school buses
- Walking and cycling to school
The following guide gives examples of how to demonstrate positive school road safety for kids when you travel to and from their school each day.
Driving in the Car
According to Australia's national child restraint laws, children need to be seated in appropriate car seats for their age group, height and size.
This can range from a rear-facing car seat, and a forward-facing car seat to an approved booster seat and a standard seat with an adult seatbelt.
The back row of seats is the safest place for children to sit and it is recommended that children up to and including 12 years old should always sit in the back row of your car.
You can also check if your car has ISOFIX anchor points.
ISOFIX is a universal product standard used to safely attach children's car seats in the car. You can find out if your car has ISOFIX in Australia and refer to your child seat's manufacturers guide to help you correctly install child safety restraints in your car.
When do school zones apply?
School zone speed limits apply once you've entered a school zone with a school zone sign.
The sign will determine:
- The reduced speed limit
- Times when this limit is in place
Commonly, urban areas have school zone signs with flashing lights and a red circle indicating that the zone is operational
A flashing school zone sign incorporates a flashing red circle and twin alternate flashing yellow lights above the school zone plate.
The school zone times for each school are listed on the school zone sign. It's important to note that all vehicles must obey the speed limits around schools during the specified hours of the school day.
School Speed Limits by State
School zone speed limits are determined by the state you live in.
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Drop Off and Pick Up
Australian schools are committed to maximum safety for their students and their families in a safer school environment.
Legally designated drop-off and pick-up zones are located in no-parking areas to ensure smooth entries and exits for children getting in and out of parked cars and around other moving vehicles.
It’s safest to use the rear passenger door in your car (the one closest to the footpath) to get your kids in and out of your car. This is normally the rear passenger door on the left-hand side, which is furthest away from the traffic.
Activating child door locks will also prevent children from trying to get in or out of the car without adult supervision.
School Buses
In Australia, there is a 40km/h speed limit when driving near school buses that are picking up or dropping off school children.
The only exception to this rule is in South Australia, where a 25km/h speed limit applies when passing a school bus that has stopped to set down or pick up children. [1]
The rear lights on a bus will flash yellow, alerting traffic travelling in the same direction that they should slow down, regardless of whether the bus is stationary or moving.
The role of a bus driver is to ensure that school students are safely transported to and from school. Bus drivers undertake training on their roles and responsibilities using a code of conduct.
Bus operators should ensure drivers are trained using the code of conduct. They aim to schedule the same drivers to the same bus route (where possible) to practice safe driving behaviours.
Pedestrian Safety for Kids
Walking or Cycling to School
You can help your child practice pedestrian safety when walking or cycling to and from school, around the block or down the road.
Holding your child’s hand when walking to school, crossing the road and when you’re around ongoing traffic are highly recommended.
As well as crossing the road at pedestrian crossings, waiting for the traffic lights to sound and checking there are no cars close by when walking with kids.
When cycling to school, parents can advise on the safest route on bike paths, footpaths or suburban streets. Wearing a correctly fitted helmet and being aware of what road rules, signals and signs represent will help all kids stay safe.
Australia has mandatory bicycle safety helmet laws (including for children). All adults' and children's helmets must meet Australian and New Zealand standards and be securely fastened before they start cycling.
Road Safety Education
Here's how you can provide further education on road safety for kids:
- Integrate further road safety education - Encouraging schools to adopt road safety education will mean that your children learn about traffic rules, hazard perception and the consequences of distracted driving, road rage and car accidents.
- Collaborate with road safety organisations - Reach out to local education organisations or road safety resources to collaborate on specialised education programs for schools using real-world examples for students.
- Creating a safer driving culture - Instil road safety as a core value in your kids by taking them to safe driving workshops, organising road safety campaigns and practising road safety when teaching them how to drive.
- Engaging your community - Collaborate with other parents and the wider community to promote positive road safety practices. Creating a supportive environment can help both parents and schools create young drivers who drive with road safety in mind.
