IT WOULD seem to be common sense for motorists to slow down when they are driving past schools and nurseries.

But sadly this isn’t the case according to national road safety charity Brake which is calling for compulsory 20mph zones around these establishments.

The move comes as a national survey revealed that three in five parents reported witnessing speeding outside their child’s school or nursery in the past year.

The same number also reported drivers pulling out or turning without looking properly.

More shockingly 47 per cent of the 1,000 parents of five to 11-year-olds surveyed said they had seen drivers on phones around their child’s school.

Young children often lack road safety skills and it only takes a moment for them to not look properly when crossing or even to just wander into the road.

Drivers should already be taking extra care around schools because of this.

But at least if they are forced to drive at 20mph there is a good chance that any child involved in an accident will survive.

So take extra care outside schools – after all no-one would ever want to find themselves to blame for the death of a child.