With the school holidays nearing an end, Eastern Waikato Police want motorists to start the new term with a blemish free report card and remember to acknowledge the speed limit around school buses.

Hauraki-Piako Road Policing supervisor, Sergeant Dean Kaio, says during the two weeks leading up to the current holidays, his officers carried out a prevention operation that displayed driver knowledge of the 20km/h speed limit was poor.

People are being reminded to stick to speed limits around schools.

'We used marked and unmarked patrol cars,” says Dean, 'to travel along rural school bus routes to monitor behaviour around school buses picking up or dropping off children. What we saw caused us some concern.

'Our staff were watching not only driver behaviour around buses but also parents' behaviours in and around the bus pickup points and the safe/unsafe pickup points used by the buses.”

Dean says officers who saw concerning behaviour would break away from the school bus and engage with the motorist as it was an education-driven initiative as opposed to an enforcement driven one.

'A real concern was that all the drivers spoken to claimed no knowledge about the 20km/h speed limit.

'Most were issued with a written traffic warning, though some were issued infringement offence notices and we hope that those people we stopped and spoke to then told their friends and family.

'A real bonus has been the way the community has gotten behind the issue following initial media coverage.

'A couple of rugby clubs added the question: ‘What is the legal speed limit for passing a stationary school bus?' into their quiz night and the classic car show in Te Awamutu on Sunday had prizes for those who answered it correctly.”

Dean says it was through this grassroots support that he hoped the message would sink in.

'After all,” he adds, 'when school starts again on Monday we all want to keep our kids safe.

'Last year five pedestrians died on Waikato roads and when you consider that road safety is no accident, we want to be able to give all Waikato motorists an 'A' pass for the end of next term.”