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Back to School Driving Tips for Parents

Kids at school

By Grace Hancock

Most everyone, including young students, has been stuck inside their houses for the past 15+ months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But, now that there are vaccinations available, things are slowly turning back to normal.

According to a report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (the NHTSA) in 2019, there were 1, 241 people of all ages killed in school-transportation-related fatal crashes between the years 2008 and 2017. In a 9-year time span, 124 people have been killed in school-transportation-related accidents per year on average. For more information collected by the NHTSA on school transportation-related crashes, click here.

In this article, we cover back-to-school driving tips for every occasion a parent may run into. Keep reading to learn more.

The Start Of The School Day: Dropping off

Schools typically have one lane where you can pull up and drop off your child. This makes mornings especially hectic when there are hundreds of kids being dropped off at the same time. You can make this part of the school day easier by following these tips:

Pedestrian Safety: Look Out for School Children

Keeping pedestrians safe is extremely important, especially when the pedestrians are children. Kids are more likely to not pay attention to their surroundings when on the road or crossing the street. This puts them at a higher risk of walking into oncoming traffic. When you are approaching a crossway in a school zone and you see a child about to cross, always assume that they don’t know the rules of the road and proceed in your car with extra caution.

Sharing The Road: School Buses

Like other large vehicles, school bus drivers have blind spots and it is difficult for passengers and other people on the road to see around the vehicle. Just as you would when sharing the road with an 18-wheeler, exercise extreme caution when driving next to or near a school bus, especially if you are in a school zone.

Sharing The Road: Bicyclists

Children may be arriving at school on their bikes. This is especially likely if the school is located in or near a residential area.

Protect Yourself From COVID-19

In the interest of maintaining public health, have your child fully vaccinated before they return to in-person schooling. If your child does not qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine, make sure that they are taking the necessary health precautions while at their school.

Your Tampa Bay Car Accident Lawyers: Hancock Injury Attorneys

When someone else’s negligence causes you to get injured in a car accident, you need a personal injury lawyer on your side. Attorney Mike Hancock has 30 years of experience under his belt helping clients get the compensation they deserve for their injuries. Call us at (813) 901-1110 to schedule your free case consultation today.