Safety with E24|7: Back-to-school road tips

The summer holidays are almost over, and for children this means back to school.
Apart from backpack shopping, laundry-washing and mind-prepping, it also means that roads will soon be filled with kids making their way to school.

It is a shared responsibility of all residents to keep the roads safe, and be extra careful when children are around. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has urged drivers to pay due attention to children on near schools, bus stops and school parking lots.

“Most crashes with children happen during the day, especially during morning and afternoon peak periods. This is when they are making trips to and from school.

“Most small children do not have the ability to deal with traffic safety on their own. Children especially have difficulty in judging speed and distance, seeing objects in their side vision, and identifying direction of speed,” said the RTA.

Here are some tips to keep the roads safe for children.

For all road users

“Slow down and obey all traffic rules and speed limits in school zones,” said the RTA.

Rules in school zones are mostly adapted to create a safe environment.
Most of these rules are aimed towards slowing down traffic, with measures such as speed bumps, traffic signals, and pedestrian crossings.

With the start of the academic year the road will witness many schoolbuses. And where there are school buses there are students.
School buses stop frequently to pick up or drop of its passengers, and when necessary pull out a ‘stop arm’.

“Be patient and always on the lookout for the extending electronic stop arm and its flashers. Drive slowly and be ready to stop. Be patient and avoid passing the school when the stop arm is out,” advises the RTA.

Drop off

Some parents may opt to drop off their child themselves. In most school zones there are dedicated areas for a drop off or alternatively, a parking lot where the parent can park in order to let the child get off safely.

Using the emergency vehicle lane or parking for the handicapped to drop off children is not permitted, urged the RTA.

“When getting out, always use the safety door, which is the door on the rear curbside away from traffic.

“Do not walk you child across the middle of a street just because you are holding his/her hand.”

Moreover, children are advised to wear a seatbelt in the car, even when they sit in the backseat. Young children must be secured by a car seat.

Children should never be left unattended in a car with the windows shut and the doors locked.
Suffocation happens when the oxygen in the car is depleted, and this can happen under any temperature level or any type of weather, reminds the RTA.

School bus

Children must be educated about the so-called danger zone around the bus, states the RTA. This danger zone is considered to be the range of ten steps from all sides of the bus.

“Always remain 10 steps away from the bus to be out of the ‘danger zone’ and make sure the driver can see you.”

When getting off the school bus the child should practice extra caution, especially if he/she must cross the road.

In order to avoid entering the blind spot of the bus driver, the RTA instructs that upon exiting, the child should walk to the edge of the footpath, and then walk to reach to the point where (s)he can be seen by the driver. Only after looking left and right, the street can be crossed.

The parent, if picking up the child should be sure to do this on the side of the street where the child is dropped off and not across the street, urges the RTA.

“Children can be so excited at seeing you after school that they dash across the street and forget the safety rules.”

Young pedestrian

In some cases, children walk to school, or to any other place. Children must be educated about certain rules when this happens.
“Always walk on the sidewalk that faces traffic,” said the RTA.

When crossing the road, children should only cross at crosswalks and follow the directions given by crossing guards. They should never try to cross streets between parked vehicles.

“Always look both ways before crossing the street and do not cross until the road is clear from vehicles,” the authority warns.

“Children should look to see that drivers are aware of them. Making eye contact with a driver is a good way to know whether a driver is aware that someone is about to cross the road.”

In parking lots children must practice safety too.
“Teach your children the basic rules of never playing around or near a parked or moving vehicle,” said the RTA.

Last but not least, it is important to teach the child never to follow a person unknown to them.
 

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