By Mark John of 
After nearly a year of asking the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) and the Dunedin City Council to install reminders for motorists to slow down near his school bus at stops, Ken Schumacher decided to do it himself.
Earlier this month, he installed a pair of signs asking road users to slow down to the legal limit of 20km/h when passing stationary school buses.
He said the signs had been working a treat so far and people were slowing down.
He had been driving pupils to and from Outram School for about a year, and not a day had gone by when a vehicle had not sped past his bus, Schumacher said.
Outram School bus driver Ken Schumacher, flanked by brothers Walter, eight (left), and George Morrisey, five, holds a sign designed to get speeding motorists to slow down. Photo: PETER MCINTOSH / ODT
He had been worried something was going to happen and asked the roading authorities for help.
However, NZTA said the signs were not a priority because there were only a few safety issues around school buses.
The council said any concerns or incidents with speeding drivers needed to be referred to the police as it was an enforcement matter.
Frustrated, Schumacher decided to do something.
"There's a noticeable improvement and that's coming from other drivers as well."
There were still a few "ratbags", including taxi drivers and people from overseas who did not know what the rules were.
He had contacted the taxi company to complain, he said.
This story was originally published by the Otago Daily Times
