Back to School Safety Tips

August 12, 2016, 9:13 am

As summer draws to a close, back-to-school season is in full effect. Remember to safely share the roads with school buses, pedestrians and bicyclists, and provide children with the necessary knowledge to stay safe at school.

Whether children walk, ride their bicycle or take the bus to school, it is extremely important that they - and the motorists around them - take proper safety precautions​.

Walking to School

• Leave early enough to arrive at school at least 10 minutes prior to the start of school.
• Go straight home after school. Do not go anywhere else without permission.
• Demonstrate traffic safety awareness and pick the safest route between your home and the school and practice walking it with your children.
• Try and walk to school with other students. There is strength in numbers.
• Teach your children to recognize and obey traffic signals, signs, and pavement markings.
• Avoid talking to strangers. Teach your children to get distance between themselves and anyone who tries to approach or make contact with them.If a stranger does approach your child, make sure they know to immediately report the incident to you or a teacher.Teach your children to never get into a vehicle with anyone, even if they know them, without your permission. 

Riding Your Bike to School

• Make sure your child always wears a bicycle helmet! Failure to wear one could result in a traffic citation. Furthermore, in the event of an accident, helmets reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent.
• Obey the rules of the road; the rules are the same for all vehicles, including bicycles.
• Always stay on the right-hand side of the road and ride in the same direction as traffic.
• Be sure your child know and uses all of the appropriate hand signals.
• Choose the safest route between home and school and practice it with children until they can demonstrate traffic safety awareness.

School Bus Safety

• Make habit of arriving at the bus stop at least five minutes before the scheduled arrival of the bus.
• Make sure your child stays out of the street and avoids excessive horseplay while waiting for the school bus.
• Be sure the bus comes to a complete stop before getting on or off.
• When riding the bus, make sure your child understands they must remain seated and keep their head and arms inside the bus at all times.
• Do not shout or distract the driver.
• Do not walk in the driver’s “blind spot” — this is the area from the front of the bus to about 10 feet in front of the bus.

Sources:

• http://www.nsc.org/learn/pages/keep-children-safe-at-school.aspx
• http://www.protection1.com/resources/back-to-school-safety/