NSW drivers warned over upcoming 'speed fine trap'

And it could come with bonus parking fines, too.

As we all know all too well, the beginning of the 2025 school year is right around the corner, with the majority of students in New South Wales heading back to the classroom on Monday.

But, in the lead up, drivers are being warned about a sneaky way you could cop a fine - and you wouldn’t even realise until it was too late.

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Watch out!

School zones are in operation every day of the school year, including pupil free days, as not every school has the same days off - just to make it less confusing for drivers.

But, when most have the same pupil free day, it could be argued that it has the opposite effect.

Tomorrow (Friday, January 31) is one of those days, where although kids aren’t back at school just yet, school zones are back in force.

According to NRMA, pupil free days can be a huge trap for motorists, who are at risk of being fined at twice the rate compared to after students have returned to class.

"It is extremely frustrating when drivers who normally abide by the 40 km/h speed limit in school zones are fined on pupil-free days because they were oblivious to the fact that the speed limits applied despite their children not being at school," NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury told Yahoo.

"The overwhelming majority of drivers go to great lengths to do the right thing around school zones and school zone speed limits have overwhelming public support — we just don’t want people inadvertently breaking the law and getting fined."

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What’s the damage?

When it comes to navigating school zones, there’s a whole lot you could do which could cause you to get a fine.

Speeding is, of course, the obvious one here. Depending on how far above the limit you’re going, you could cop a fine of anywhere from $675 to $2,794 - plus a couple of demerit points.

There are also a host of parking-based offences that attract harsher punishments when committed in a school zone.

This includes not observing No Parking signs in a ‘Kiss and Drop’ line - you could get a $215 fine and 2 demerit points if you stop for over two minutes or exit your car. Double parking could get you a $387 fine and 2 demerit points, and performing an illegal U-turn would be $387 and three demerit points.

Be careful, all year round!

In a recent study done by AAMI, one-third of Australian drivers admitted to speeding through a school zone - and that’s with kids around. One in ten even said they’ve knowingly broken the speed limit in a school zone if no children were visible - yikes!

So, ahead of the new school year, make sure you keep an eye out for those signs, and stay under 40km/h.

Originally published as NSW drivers warned over upcoming 'speed fine trap'