Given from the South Australian Chief Public Health Officer that schools, preschools and early childhood services should remain open, South Australia Police will be conducting a state-wide traffic operation to coincide with the return of students to South Australian classrooms for term two.
Despite these unprecedented times, South Australia Police remain focused on road safety with Operation Return to School beginning early next week.
The highly visible road safety operation aims to keep students and pedestrians safe around school zones by targeting drink and drug drivers.
The last time the operation ran in late January police visited 327 schools and issued 101 expiation notices for offences including drink and drug driving, exceed speed and mobile phone use.
Alarmingly, four motorists tested positive to drugs, including a driver from Woodville Gardens who had a child in the car when they returned a positive roadside test for Methamphetamine.
Additionally, a 32-year-old Para Hills man tested positive for ecstasy, a 44-year-old Modbury man tested positive to Methamphetamine, with another returning a positive roadside test for THC.
“In order to help achieve safer roads, police will continue to target drivers who speed, fail to belt up, take illicit drugs before driving or make other poor decisions, thereby endangering everyone on our roads,” said Superintendent Bob Gray, Officer in Charge of the Traffic Services Branch.
“Driving with drugs in your system obviously isn’t safe, and it puts you and others in a high-risk situation.
“We are still randomly testing drivers for drugs and alcohol, so the message from police is simple: Do not drug or drink drive.
“We’ve lost 37 lives on South Australian roads this year, and even though we encourage everyone to stay home, people are still driving for essential reasons, including to and from work, school or the grocery store.
“That is why we need to stay alert behind the wheel at all times, even though our minds are preoccupied with the current situation.”
Operation Return to School will run from Monday 27 April and Tuesday 28 April between school drop off and pick up times of 8am to 9am and 2:45pm and 3:45pm.
