The Minns Labor Government is delivering a nation-leading safety trial in the Hunter, with the installation of two new smart school zone signs at Wallsend South Public School.
The trial features locally developed safety technology made in the Hunter.
In an Australian-first, the trial will evaluate cutting-edge technology designed to improve safety for children and families travelling through busy school zones. The two signs feature radar, pedestrian sensors and artificial intelligence, and have been installed along Croudace Road and McCaffrey Drive.
These next-generation signs are solar-powered and internet-connected, and display dynamic messages based on real-time traffic and pedestrian activity. If a vehicle is detected exceeding the 40 km/h school zone speed limit, the sign will display a "SLOW DOWN" alert. The signs will also respond when high numbers of pedestrians are detected and can display tailored messages outside of school zone hours.
The trial has been supported by an $83,500 investment from the Small Business Innovation & Research (SBIR) Program, administered by the Office of the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer. The signs were developed by local Hunter manufacturer HIVIS.
The Wallsend South Public School has been chosen as the trial site for several reasons including high volumes of vehicle and pedestrian traffic on school days, its location close to the base of development and delivery partner HIVIS Group and the site having 4G connectivity and good solar access.
All information collected from the signs, including traffic volumes, vehicle speeds, and pedestrian data, will be securely sent to a central system for analysis. This will help assess how well the alerts influence driver behaviour and reduce speeds in school zones.
The Minns Labor Government is committed to exploring new ways to improve road safety. This trial represents the next step in the evolution of school zone safety infrastructure, which has already contributed to a 56 per cent reduction in crashes across school zones in the past decade.
Minister for Roads Jenny Aitchison said:
"As sign technologies get smarter it opens opportunities to make our school zones safer.
"It's around 25 years since the then Labor Government launched the original flashing alert signs at high-risk school zones here in NSW.
"They've served us well as a valuable high-visibility reminder to slow down and take extra care during those busy hours at the start and end of the school day, and this trial, funded by the Minns Labor Government takes it one step further.
"In the last decade, as the number of signs increased from around 1500 to over 6800 - we've also seen crashes in school zones drop by 56 per cent.
Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley said:
"I'm incredibly proud that the Hunter is pioneering this new era of school zone alert sign to help keep our children safer, and excited by the potential to drive down incidents further through the use of radars and sensors for real time alerts.
"We've always been a region that punches above our weight, and now we're setting the benchmark for how tech can be used to keep our kids safe on local roads."
Member for Wallsend, Sonia Hornery said:
"I'm proud that Wallsend is leading the way in trialling this new smart technology that has the potential to make a real difference to road safety around schools.
"It's fantastic to see this cutting-edge technology developed right here in the Hunter being used to protect our most vulnerable road users, our children."
Transport for NSW Executive Director of Operational Technology, JP Ahern said:
"We're always looking for ways to not just maintain but also enhance and make better the safety infrastructure we have across our network.
"We don't want drivers to become complacent about school zone safety - after more than 20 years it's time to start upgrading our signs - we're using the opportunity to take them to the next level with real-time alerts.
"We are not using these signs for compliance, and they will not capture or store any images of people or vehicles. It's all about awareness, education and safety.
"A big benefit will be the ability to gather data to compare vehicle and pedestrian numbers. Eventually we'll be able to gather this across multiple school zones, and it will help us understand what type of alerts work the best to get motorists to slow down and also which zones may benefit from additional safety treatments."
