Rewards for obeying road rules

Safety team: Ashburton police and Mid Canterbury Rural Women New Zealand will be conducting a school bus safety campaign next week. Pearsons Coachlines manager Mark Cook, back left, Guy Ward, back centre, Senior Constable Chris Wiltshire, back right, and from front left, Fiona, Hannah and William Ward and Mid Canterbury Rural Women New Zealand provincial president Maureen Maginness met to discuss the project's logistics at the Ashburton Police station on Monday. The basket contains chocolate hearts which will be given to rule-obeying motorists.

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Obey the rules and receive chocolate.  Disobey the rules, and your car may be impounded for 28 days.

District-wide, children will be returning to school next week and a group of local road safety lobbyists and the Ashburton police want to make sure Mid Canterbury's next generation will be safe.

Mid Canterbury's branch of Rural Women New Zealand (MCRWNZ), together with police and Ashburton District Road Safety, will next week carry out an education and reward programme for motorists passing stationary school buses on rural roads and monitoring motorists' speeds past schools.

Motorists who reduce speed to the required 20kmh when passing a stationary school bus on an outer road will be rewarded with a chocolate heart, MCRWNZ provincial president Maureen Maginness said.

However, those who break the speed limit when passing bus, will either be ticketed, or have their car impounded.

Ashburton police Senior Constable Chris Wiltshire said it will be important for motorists to be aware of children returning to start the school year in rural and urban areas.

''The rules are the rules.''

If a car exceeds the stationary school bus passing speed limit by 40kmh, it will be confiscated for 28 days, Mr Wiltshire said.

'''I encourage parents and motorists to be aware of the buses.''

The project will run during the first week of February with rural bus routes randomly monitored on morning and afternoon runs.

Rural Women New Zealand has been a long-time national campaigner for children's safety on rural roads.

Mrs Maginness said school bus safety has become paramount, as every child killed in an accident, has been one too many.

''In too many rural areas, traffic speeding past school and school buses are of a concern, and Mid Canterbury Rural Women wish to draw attention to this problem before there are any more accidents.