Back to School Driving Safety
Can you believe it!! Summer is officially over and the kids are headed back to school. Here at Roberts Wilson, P.A. Injury Law, we always see an increase in auto accidents this time of year so we want remind everyone to be safe as our children go back to school.
The reasons we see so many accidents this time of year are pretty simple:
- New & inexperienced drivers
- New routes drivers are not used to
- Tired kids and parents on the road
- Distracted drivers
- Community-wide schedule changes almost always increase traffic accidents
- School Zones have been dormant during summer and surprise drivers
Here are some tips for us drivers, now that school is session:
- Always follow the speed limit and slow down in school zones and near bus stops
- Be on alert for kids who may be trying to get to or from a school bus
- No matter where you are, be on the look-out for kids walking or riding bikes to school
- Slow down and stop if you’re driving near a school bus with flashing yellow or red lights. This means the bus is either preparing to stop (yellow) or already stopped (red), and children are getting on or off
- If you cause an accident near a school bus or hit a child boarding or exiting a school bus, you will be in HUGE legal trouble and can even be charged with a crime.
Are School Buses Safe?
According to the National Safety Council, riding the school bus is the safest way for students to get to and from school. In fact, it is 13 times safer than in riding in the family car and 10 times safer than walking.
School buses are designed with safety in mind with their bright yellow color and flashing lights. Even though there is ongoing debate about whether seat belts should be installed or not, the research shows that buses are safer even without seat belts.
Entrusting your child to a school bus is not easy, but it helps to know that even with or without seat belts, school buses are still one of the safest modes of transportation to get a child to school.
Here are some tips to keep your child safe while taking the bus:
- Walk with your kids to the bus stop. Teach your kids to stand 3 giant steps back from the curb.
- Teach kids to wait for bus to come to a complete stop before getting on and never to walk behind the bus.
- Instruct younger kids to use handrails when getting on and off the bus. If your child drops something, they should tell bus driver and make sure bus driver can see them before they pick it up.
- When getting off the bus, if your child must cross in front of the bus, teach your child to take 5 giant steps in front of bus, MAKE EYE CONTACT with the driver and wait for a signal from him to cross. Teach kids to look left, right and left again before crossing the street.
