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Back to School Traffic Safety Tips from AAA

Traffic Safety

It’s time to go back to school for a lot of children (and teachers) this week! Remind your fleet to be extra aware and take additional precautions on the roads in the coming weeks. Slow down at those school zones, always watch out for children in the roads, and be patient with the extra car-line traffic and frequent school bus stops.

AAA wrote a great article with tips to give drivers a refresher of the extra precautions they should take when school is back in session. Here is an excerpt from their safety list (access the full article here):

  • Slow down. Speed limits in school zones are reduced for a reason. A pedestrian child walking on a school cross walk, struck by a vehicle traveling at 25 mph is nearly two-thirds less likely to be killed compared to a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling only 10 mph faster.
  • Come to a complete stop. Research shows that more than one-third of drivers roll through stop signs in school zones or neighborhoods. Always come to a complete stop, checking carefully for children on sidewalks and in crosswalks before proceeding.
  • Back up and change lanes responsibly. Every vehicle has blind spots. Always check for children on the sidewalks, in driveways and around your vehicle before slowly backing up. Teach children to never play in, under or around vehicles.
  • Watch for bicycles. Children on bikes are often inexperienced, unsteady and unpredictable. Slow down and allow at least three feet of passing distance between your vehicle and a bicyclist. If your child rides a bicycle to school, require that he or she wear a properly fitted bicycle helmet on every ride. Find videos, expert advice and safety tips at ShareTheRoad.AAA.com.

Want to read the full AAA Article: Schools’ Open, Drive Safely? Click here.

Any extra suggestions on keeping our kids safe during back-to-school? Let us know in the comments!