Hastings Central School students protest against dangerous drivers

A group of Hastings Central School students have protested against dangerous drivers outside their school .

More than 25 Year 5 and 6 students took a stand for their lives as part of Road Safety Week with banners they had made themselves.

Senior teacher Grant Shanley said the school had been plagued with road safety issues due to dangerous pedestrian crossings outside the school on Hastings St South and Southampton St East.

At this time of year the crossings were hard to see because of sun strike and there had been numerous close calls in the past where cars and motorbikes had gone through the pedestrian crossing stop signs, he said.

"It's causing safety issues," Shanley said.

"So far nobody has been hit but it's possibly a matter of time.

"This is an almost critical situation."

Other problems outside the school included double-parking, parking on yellow lines and parking on footpaths as well as speeding.

These dangers have increased since roadworks started in the area because there is now five times the normal amount of traffic going past the crossings.

The protest was a way to give the children a voice to address these issues and hopefully change driver behaviour, Shanley said.

"The one thing that comes out of it is the kids realise they have a voice.

"The kids all got out there, they had lots of toots of support.

"They loved it, they were really excited about it. It was a really positive buzz."

During the protest one driver pulled in to park at the bus stop by the school but saw the students and kept driving. Another was using their cellphone but put it down when they saw one of the placards about the dangers of using phones while driving, Shanley said.

For the past year the school has been working with the Hastings District Council as well as police to come up with a solution.

A travel plan has been formed to try to change driver behaviour as well help initiate actions to improve safety.

As part of this a walking, cycling and driving safety pamphlet was made and distributed to the wider school community last term.

The school also now includes a travel tip in its newsletter each week to remind people of the road rules.

"I look forward to a positive outcome from all this work," Shanley said.

A council spokesperson said it council has been working with schools wishing to have an active travel plan since 2016 as part of the iWay programme.

Five are confirmed, including Hastings Central School, with three more in the process.

Council owns iWay, which contracts a specialist transportation consultant to build the plans with the schools.

"The process is as follows: selecting a school based on the proximity of traffic volumes and issues; gauging school interest; investigating travel modes and issues; preparing a travel plan and action plan to go to the school's board of trustees.

"As part of each travel plan, the consultant identifies potential engineering issues, which are then picked up for further investigation by our teams."

Action 1, which is considering parking management approaches on Southampton St, has been completed.

The council has a detailed traffic survey planned for Karamu Rd but will carry it out after the Railway Rd works are finished.

The full length of Southampton St is due to undergo a full safety audit early in the coming financial year.

"That will include the intersections closest to the school and the crossing.

"Decisions on any work to be done will be made once the information from that study is to hand."