Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

So, how fast can you go past a bus?

By Kristin Edge
Reporter·Northern Advocate·
23 Aug, 2008 05:57 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article


Outside Parua Bay Primary School, pupils clamber off the stationary school bus.
Just metres away truck, cars and vans hurtle past at up to 70km/h - well over the legal 20km/h speed limit.
A police radar gun fixes on a small silver car and red digits stop on 65km/h. The driver is
waved down by a fluoro-clad policeman.
"Excuse me sir, do you know the legal speed past a school bus?" inquires the cop.
"It's 50, isn't it?" the driver says, hoping he's right.
He's politely informed of the legal speed.
"Really?" the driver exclaims. "How long has it been that speed for?"
It's been part of the Road Code for years.
The driver is given a warning and sent on his way.
Apparently his response is typical. The maximum penalty for exceeding the speed limit past a school bus is a $1000 fine.
Highway Patrol boss Alastair Ward, of Northland police, said anyone with kids should be concerned about motorists' speeds as they pass children getting on and off buses.
"Children are fragile and 20km/h might seem really slow - but at least at that legal speed they have a chance if they are hit," he said. While motorists might find it unrealistic to drive that slowly past school buses while children got on and off, in some parts of Australia and the US drivers had to stop completely.
"We've had one too many deaths in Northland involving kids and buses."
Over the past decade in New Zealand, 11 children have been killed getting on and off school buses, with another 15 seriously injured and 45 with minor injuries.
The deaths include 7-year-old Zachary Hide, who was hit by a car as he crossed Cove Rd, near Waipu, to catch a school bus, and 13-year-old Grant Collins, killed after getting off a bus north of Kaitaia.
In another bid to make schools safer for children, flashing 40km/h speed signs have been erected outside seven Whangarei schools.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

'Fresh lines of inquiry': Police seek info on 77-year-old's last day

28 May 06:28 AM
Northern Advocate

Northland Regional Council: Ratepayers not providing huge money needed for caulerpa fight

28 May 12:48 AM
Northern Advocate

On The Up: Trapping efforts are revitalising kiwi habitats

27 May 09:41 PM

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

'Fresh lines of inquiry': Police seek info on 77-year-old's last day

'Fresh lines of inquiry': Police seek info on 77-year-old's last day

28 May 06:28 AM

Police are investigating a green and gold 4WD with plate LCP129.

Northland Regional Council: Ratepayers not providing huge money needed for caulerpa fight

Northland Regional Council: Ratepayers not providing huge money needed for caulerpa fight

28 May 12:48 AM
On The Up: Trapping efforts are revitalising kiwi habitats

On The Up: Trapping efforts are revitalising kiwi habitats

27 May 09:41 PM
'She told me lies': Luxury resort CEO says ex-manager's actions were 'terrifying'

'She told me lies': Luxury resort CEO says ex-manager's actions were 'terrifying'

27 May 07:00 AM
Explore the hidden gems of NSW
sponsored

Explore the hidden gems of NSW

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP