Drive carefully near school zones

MADISON – Area schools are back in session, and that means drivers need to pay careful attention when traveling through school zones.

Motorists already know they will encounter the traffic jams that mark the start of a new school year, and it stands to reason for everyone to apply an extra dose of caution and patience during this time. The roads surrounding our schools get congested early in the morning and during the mid-afternoon as school buses full of students arrive and depart and harried parents hurry to drop off their kids on the way to work. Complicating things are the youngsters who live nearby and walk or bicycle to school when weather permits.

All those moving pieces should create a heightened sense of awareness for drivers, who should slow down and pay close attention when school zones are active.

Madison, Madison Country and Huntsville schools started back on Monday. The safety of our children should be foremost on the minds of all motorists who must navigate through school zones for the next nine months. You can help ensure the safety of students by doing the following:

• Slow down when driving through school zones, and keep a sharp eye out for children walking alongside or near roadways. Be prepared to stop quickly should one of them dart into your path.

• Watch for children entering the street from behind buses, or running to catch a bus that’s about to depart.

• When driving your children to school, deliver and pick them up as close to the school as possible. Don’t leave until they are safely on school grounds.

• Drive slowly when approaching children riding bicycles.

• 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.

• Never pass a vehicle stopped for pedestrians.

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. It is illegal in all 50 states to pass a school bus that is stopped to load or unload children.

If you’re driving behind a bus, allow a greater following distance than if you were driving behind a car. It will give you more time to stop once the yellow lights start flashing.

The area 10 feet around a school bus is the most dangerous for children; stop far enough back to allow them space to safely enter and exit the bus.

Be alert; children often are unpredictable, and they tend to ignore hazards and take risks.

Lastly, when driving in school zones, put down your telephone or electronic devices and stop texting while driving. This could also save you a traffic citation: Alabama state law requires the use of hands-free mobile phones when driving.

Those few seconds you turn your glance away from the road to read a text, or send a text, could be tragic.

There are already enough distractions in school zones. Don’t create your own by texting and driving.

Let’s do everything we can this school year to make sure our children arrive to school safely, and return home without incident once classes are over.