$10 to keep school kids safe

NRMA Motoring & Services Director Coral Taylor is calling on the Roads and Traffic Authority to spend an additional $10 - the cost of using fluorescent yellow-green for school zone signs as opposed to the standard dull yellow - to improve visibility and keep school children safe. 

Ms Taylor said current school zone signs are the same colour as bus stop signs. School zone signs should be bolder in their distinction from other signs, allowing drivers more time to see them and react accordingly. 

"There are over 3,100 schools in NSW and while the RTA has made significant strides in protecting drivers, passengers and pedestrians, only five per cent of these schools have flashing lights," Ms Taylor said. 

"The NSW Government has shown its hand, promising flashing lights at 100 new school zone sites each year for the next four years. The use of fluorescent green signage should be compulsory during these upgrades. 

"Clearly, the occupational health and safety benefits of using fluorescent products are abundantly evident in every-day life. Road and work site personnel including NRMA road patrol staff wear trademark fluorescent vests." 

The benefits of fluorescent signage are glaringly obvious to researchers as well. 

The Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research at the Norwegian Institute of Technology (SINTEF) study found that fluorescent signs were first looked at by the driver at a distance of 130 metres compared with 75 metres for non-fluorescent signs. 

The research concluded that fluorescent signs have superior colour contrast, are more conspicuous and result in a quicker response from drivers. Detection and shape recognition, particularly for older drivers outperforms regular yellow signs. Fluorescent signs have also been shown to have a greater cognitive impact on motorists. 

Ms Taylor said school children are our nation's future.   

"The cost of their safety getting to and from school should not even have a dollar amount placed upon it," Ms Taylor said.