As summer passes into autumn, school zones can suddenly become a very congested and confusing place to be. School buses are picking up and dropping off, kids are hurrying to get to school before the bell rings, parents are in a rush to drop their kids off before going to work. We all know how that can be, both before and after school.
As the sun sets earlier and daylight decreases, keeping yourself calm, aware of your surroundings and alert to where kids may be is even more important.
According to the National Safety Council, more kids are hit by cars in school zones than in any other location. Some steps you can take to help keep school zones safe include:
- Don’t double park; it blocks visibility for other children and vehicles
- Don’t load or unload children across the street from the school
- Carpool to reduce the number of vehicles at the school
According to research by the National Safety Council, most of the children who lose their lives in bus-related incidents are 4 to 7 years old, and they’re walking. They are hit by the bus, or by a motorist illegally passing a stopped bus. A few precautions go a long way toward keeping children safe:
- Don’t block the crosswalk when stopped at a red light or waiting to make a turn, forcing pedestrians to go around you; this could put them in the path of moving traffic
- In a school zone when flashers are blinking, stop and yield to pedestrians crossing the crosswalk or intersection
- Always stop for a school patrol officer or crossing guard holding up a stop sign
- Take extra care to look out for children in school zones, near playgrounds and parks, and in all residential areas
- Don’t honk or rev your engine to scare a pedestrian, even if you have the right of way
- Never pass a vehicle stopped for pedestrians
- Always use extreme caution to avoid striking pedestrians wherever they may be, no matter who has the right of way
For more tips or safety trainings, please contact david@tss-safety.com and remember, Safety is NO ACCIDENT!
— David Martin, Safety Coordinator, TSS, Inc.