School zone sign
What the School zone sign means: The lower limit applies during the times shown on school days, so slow down and watch for children.
- Group
- Speed limit signs
- Does this group carry the law
- Enforceable. The number is a maximum for good conditions.
- In the sign deck
- 3 questions ask about this sign
What to do when you see it
- Read the times and the days printed on the sign, and check whether today is one of them.
- Be at the lower limit before you enter the zone, not once you are inside it.
- Scan the footpath, the gates and the gaps between parked cars, because children step out without looking.
- Stay at the limit until the end of zone sign, even if the school looks closed.
Where you see it
On the approach to primary and secondary schools, usually with flashing lights or a fluorescent border, and repeated at every entry to the zone.
Across the states and territories
This is the sign with the most variation between jurisdictions. The speed, the hours and the days are set by each state and territory rather than nationally, South Australia uses a lower number than the eastern states, and the hours differ across borders even where the number matches. Read the sign in front of you and check your own agency's page rather than carrying interstate habits with you.
Tell it apart from these
- School zonethis page40 km/h speed limit
A plain 40 sign applies all the time. A school zone sign applies only during the hours it shows, and the road returns to its normal limit outside them.
40 km/h speed limit: You must not drive faster than 40 km/h from this sign until the limit changes.
- School zonethis pageChildren ahead
Children ahead is a warning with no speed attached. A school zone sign sets an enforceable limit.
Children ahead: Children may be near or on the road here, so slow down and be ready for them to step out.
How the knowledge tests use it
Expect a question about a school zone on a public holiday or during school holidays, and a question about whether the limit applies when no children are visible.
What does this sign mean?
School zone signs set an enforceable limit for the posted times on days when school is on. South Australia signs its school areas differently, so check the local handbook when you drive there.
State and territory driver handbooks, school zones
Common questions
- What does the School zone sign mean?
- The lower limit applies during the times shown on school days, so slow down and watch for children.
- What should you do when you see a School zone sign?
- Read the times and the days printed on the sign, and check whether today is one of them. Be at the lower limit before you enter the zone, not once you are inside it. Scan the footpath, the gates and the gaps between parked cars, because children step out without looking. Stay at the limit until the end of zone sign, even if the school looks closed.
- Where is the School zone sign used?
- On the approach to primary and secondary schools, usually with flashing lights or a fluorescent border, and repeated at every entry to the zone.
- What is the School zone sign confused with?
- 40 km/h speed limit: A plain 40 sign applies all the time. A school zone sign applies only during the hours it shows, and the road returns to its normal limit outside them. Children ahead: Children ahead is a warning with no speed attached. A school zone sign sets an enforceable limit.
- How do the knowledge tests ask about the School zone sign?
- Expect a question about a school zone on a public holiday or during school holidays, and a question about whether the limit applies when no children are visible.
Try it in a question
Original practice questions, not the official bank. How we write and check them.
More speed limit signs
A number in a red circle on a white plate.