KEY POINTS:
Police caught nearly 350 drivers speeding past South Island schools on State Highway One in the first week back from school holidays.
Under the first phase of Operation Tahi, a five-month exercise to improve safety along SH1, police focused on the 75 South Island schools and childcare centres within 250m of the highway.
Drivers were issued 109 tickets on the spot, with a further 240 to follow from stationary speed camera cars.
"Even one speeding ticket past a school is unacceptable, but this number shows too many drivers are ignoring the message," said Canterbury acting road policing manager Neville Hyland . The highest speed was 132km/h in a 100km/h zone outside Hapuku School, north of Kaikoura.
In North Canterbury, a truck was caught travelling at 88km/h past Woodend School in a 50km/h zone.
Police also targeted open-road stretches of SH1, issuing more than 1000 tickets across the South Island for the week, including for offences such as driving while disqualified and having no warrant of fitness or registration.
Other phases of Operation Tahi will target alcohol and drugs, careless and dangerous driving, and high-risk and disqualified drivers.
- NZPA
