AAA urges drivers to slow down in school zones
Over the next few weeks more than 55 million children across the United States will head back to school.
With 13% of those children typically walking or biking to their classes, drivers are reminded to slow down, put away distractions and proceed carefully while traveling near or through school zones. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2016 one in every five children under the age of 15 who were killed in traffic crashes, were pedestrians.
Launched in 1946, AAA’s School’s Open – Drive Carefully awareness campaign was created as a way to help reduce child pedestrian fatalities and injuries. AAA is offering free Schools Open, Drive Carefully yard signs to the public to be placed in front yards at homes and businesses near schools or in high traffic areas to remind drivers to pay close attention while driving. The signs are available at area AAA locations while supplies last.
For nearly 100 years AAA School Safety Patrollers have put on their uniforms and headed out to neighborhood crosswalks to ensure the safety of their fellow students as they travel to and from school.
This year more than 654,000 students in 34,500 schools nationwide will serve their schools and communities developing, leadership skills today that create tomorrow’s leaders.
Here are several recommendations from AAA regarding ways drivers can help to keep kids safe:
Slow down. Speed limits in school zones are reduced for a reason. A pedestrian 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 just 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. Coming to a complete stop provides the time necessary to scan roadways carefully and spot pedestrians.
Reverse responsibly. Every vehicle has blind spots. Check for children on the sidewalk, in the driveway and around your vehicle before slowly backing up. Teach your 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.
Talk to your teen. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States, and nearly one in four fatal crashes involving teen drivers occur during the after-school hours of 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Get evidence-based guidance and tips at TeenDriving.AAA.com.
Eliminate distractions. Research shows that taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds doubles your chances of crashing. This spring, AAA launched a new, multi-year initiative that aims to prevent deaths and injuries as a result of cell phone use by drivers. “Don’t Drive Intoxicated – Don’t Drive Intexticated” is the theme of this multimedia traffic safety education campaign created to make distracted driving socially unacceptable. AAA has made traffic safety a priority since 1921, working to make roads, vehicles and drivers safer. Through this latest initiative, AAA is committed to changing attitudes and behaviors surrounding the deadly problem of distracted driving. The public is invited to take the Don’t Drive Intexticated pledge. Visit www. aaa.com/dontdrivedistracted to join this lifesaving effort and take the pledge online.
Calling all AAA School Safety Patroller alumni to share your story of service. Next year the AAA School Safety Patrol program will commemorate 100 years and as part of the centennial celebration we would like to hear stories from those who served as Patrollers. Please visit https://www.surveymonkey. com/r/N95T9Y7 to share your story.