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40 km/h school speed limits

About the project

40 km/hr school speed limits

We are introducing a 40km/h time-based school speed limit for school pedestrian actuated crossings on busy roads. This will improve children’s safety and help them when they travel to and from school. This project is part funded by the $168 million Road Safety Program and the $2.6 million budgeted for road safety as part of the 2024-25 State Budget.

A pedestrian actuated crossing is where pedestrians press a button to activate the traffic lights. This allows them to safely cross the road when the signal changes.

The change to a 40km/h time-based school speed limit will bring South Australia in line with other states. In other states, there is already a lower speed limit for school crossings on all arterial and high-volume council roads.

Locations

New 40km/h time-based school speed limits will be rolled out across South Australia in a phased approach, with the first phase starting from mid-2025. Locations will be chosen based on an assessment that considers the schools’ proximity to busy roads. This includes traffic speed and traffic volumes.

We will provide advance notice of any construction work in early 2025 for phase one locations. Construction of the final phase will be completed in 2026.

We will hold information sessions with schools from early 2025 to share details on how the school speed limits will function. We will provide advance notice for these sessions as locations for each phase are determined.

When speed limits will apply

The new 40km/h time-based school speed limit will apply on school days when children are travelling to and from school during these times:

  • 8:00 am to 9:30 am
  • 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

This excludes weekends, public holidays and school holidays.

Speed limits will be enforced from the date of completion at each site.

Existing 25 km/h when children present school zone speed limits will not change. Road users must reduce their speed and always take caution near schools.

More information

To learn more or speak to a member of the project team, please: