By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna
Before school starts, its important parents take a lesson in safety and teach these safety lessons to children because morning and afternoon commutes will now involve throngs of students walking, bicycling, driving or riding buses to and from school reminds Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna. We were all kids once, so we know we can’t count on them to be paying attention. That’s why it’s important to use extra caution while driving in school zones.
Use the following information to spread the word of safety in your community:
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that 75 school-age pedestrians are killed each year during school travel. These are preventable deaths! Let’s share some lessons and start a safety campaign in the communities we protect with these safety reminders:
- It is illegal to pass a school bus that is stopped to load or unload children.
- School buses use yellow flashing lights to alert motorists that they are preparing to stop to load or unload children. Red flashing lights and an extended stop sign arm signals to motorists that the bus is stopped and children are getting on or off the bus.
- The area 10 feet around a school bus is where children are in the most danger of being hit. Stop your car far enough from the bus to allow children the necessary space to safely enter and exit the bus.
- Be alert. Children walking to or from their bus are usually very comfortable with their surroundings. This makes them more likely to take risks, ignore hazards or fail to look both ways when crossing the street.
- Drivers should not block the crosswalk when stopped at a red light or waiting to make a turn. Do not stop with a portion of your vehicle over the crosswalk.
- In a school zone when a warning flasher or flashers are blinking, you must stop to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a marked crosswalk or at an intersection with no marked crosswalk.
- Remember: Children are the least predictable pedestrians and the most difficult to see. Take extra care to look out for children not only in school zones, but also in residential areas, playgrounds, and parks.
- Don’t honk your horn, rev your engine or do anything to rush or scare a pedestrian in front of your car, even if you have the legal right-of-way.
Emotional & Routine Readiness
- Establish bedtime and wake-up routines:. This helps ease anxiety and improves focus.
- Read together daily. This builds connection and reinforces learning habits.
- Check in emotionally. Anxiety is common at the start of the year — a quick chat can go a long way.
School Security Measures
- ID checks for visitors: Check for schools that require ID for student pickup.
- School resource officers: See if they are available and teach your children how to access them.
- Check for Safe School apps: Offers 24/7 crisis support and anonymous tip reporting
Don’t forget backpacks that are size appropriate and you may want to consider packs that hold water. It’s still August and it will be hot!
More back to school safety information can be found in NHTSA’s August edition of Safety in Numbers
