Drivers Are Responsible For Children

That we have yellow school buses, flashing lights, an arm that extends out in front of the school bus, and a law that requires drivers to stop, is a recognition that children do not yet possess the necessary judgment to navigate our roadways safely.

The prefrontal cortex of the brain that is in charge of risk assessment and impulse control is not fully developed until our mid-20s.

While children should be taught road safety, the letter to the editor “Children Need to Look Both Ways” [Nov. 4] suggests putting the responsibility on children not to get run over. Drivers need to recognize that there is never a justification for hitting a child. If you see children in the street, give them lots of room, slow down, and expect that anything can happen.

Why would children run into the road without looking? Children are not little adults, and they do not have the same ability in understanding risk or in controlling their impulses. Children are excited to be going to school, they are excited to see their friends, they know that drivers are supposed to stop for school buses, and sometimes they cross the street without looking.

It is unfair for society to expect children to engage in the kind of diligence that adults behind the wheel should be exercising on their behalf. Keep your mind and eyes on the road and stay off your phone. Understand that you are driving a machine that is responsible for the deaths of more people each year in our country than firearms.

Kevin Borrup, Newington The writer is the associate director of

the injury prevention center at Connecticut Children’s Hospital.