"We actually had a mate, a car clipped his back tyre on his bike and he got hit by a car," Matthew said.

The boy was approaching a school zone where cars should be slowing when he was hit, escaping with minor injuries.

The students were speaking as authorities warned motorists to slow down in school zones when young people return to school next week.

Last year 509 people were caught speeding by mobile speed cameras outside Radford College.

This counted for one of the highest numbers of people being caught speeding in different school zones across the ACT in 2017.

Matthew and Holly are both in year 10 at Radford College and said they take notice of all the cars driving fast through the school zone.

"There are a few lead foots around here," Matthew said. "It scares us."

"If you're driving at 50 kilometers an hour it doesn't feel like much to you," Holly said.

"But if you're someone who's trying to cross the road… as a pedestrian that feels quite fast, that's quite a significant difference."

Matthew asked drivers to help make their school safer.

"We encourage them all to slow down to make us feel a better safer," he said. "It would be a better environment for us."

Radford College principal Fiona Godfrey said that student safety was a priority and people needed to be reminded to follow the speed limit in school zones.

"We always have staff on before and after school, but there are always students coming and going during the course of the day and that's why it's important that those speed limits are maintained throughout the course of the day," she said.

Regular 40km/h speed limits in school zones return on Monday, 5 February between 8am and 4pm.

Minister for road safety Shane Rattenbury said there is no excuse for speeding in a school zone when driving so close to children.

"If a car hits a pedestrian at 50km/h, the pedestrian is twice more likely to be killed than if the car had been travelling at 40km/h," he said.

Acting Chief Police Officer for the ACT Mark Walters said tough penalties are in place for those ignoring the speed restrictions.

"Officers will be out in force and focusing on school zones to ensure that those drivers choosing to ignore the road rules will be caught and penalised," he said.

Mr Walters said the speed limit in school zones was necessary to give drivers time to react if something unexpected were to happen.

"Children are one of our most vulnerable road users who are still learning the road rules and awareness of traffic," he said.

Fines range from $2136 and six demerit points for driving more than 45km/h over the speed limit to $301 and one demerit point for driving less than 15km/h over the speed limit.

Narrabundah College: 802 fines

Canberra Grammar: 566 fines

Radford College: 509 fines

Canberra College: 495 fines

Dickson College: 317 fines