Editorial

Let’s keep our schoolchildren safe

Posted

It’s a message we emphasize every year, because it is so important: School is almost back in session, so it’s time for drivers to slow down and use extra caution.

Across Nassau County, schools will start reopening next week, with tens of thousands of students heading back to class. Children use many means to get to school — buses, cars, bicycles and their feet — and drivers must be cognizant of all of them. We will see more congested roads, and our frustration with traffic will grow. Accustomed to the summer’s absence of school buses, we’ll need renewed patience to adjust to their return.

But let’s not allow these frustrations to get the best of us. We must be extra-careful on the roads, particularly in school zones, near crosswalks and in residential neighborhoods.

School zone speed limits are typically 10 to 15 mph below the normal speed limit, and in New York state they are in effect from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on school days. Yes, driving 20 mph can feel awfully slow, but children’s safety must be the top priority. We urge drivers to take note of school speed limits and adhere to them.

While we don’t have 2014’s problems with school-zone cameras and automatic ticketing, drivers should act as though they are on camera. The one benefit of the often-criticized photo monitoring was that it forced people to slow down in school zones. Who knows how many lives that saved?

Math teachers always say that there are practical applications for all those equations we learn. Try this one: Distance equals rate multiplied by time. A vehicle traveling just 20 mph covers about 110 feet in 3.75 seconds. Think about that. The distance from home plate to first base is 90 feet. It’s 94 feet from hoop to hoop on an NBA basketball court.

It takes time for a driver to see a child run out from behind a school bus, and start to brake. If you’re going 20 mph and see a child 50 feet away, you’ve got just two seconds to stop. Image what could happen if you cruise through a school zone at 40 instead.

Speed isn’t the only problem among drivers as school starts. Distracted driving is at least as hazardous to schoolchildren — and other pedestrians. Stop talking on your phone, texting, checking email, posting to Facebook, taking selfies and playing games while driving. At 20 mph, if you take your eyes off the road for just two seconds, your car will have moved 50 feet (more than the length of a school bus) while you weren’t watching.

More considerations. U-turns are illegal in school zones. While they were already prohibited in front of many schools, a statewide law passed in 2013 forbids them on all roads abutting schools.

Also, avoid double parking in school zones. They become congested at drop-off and pickup times, and cars can often be spread two and three wide across a road already crowded with young pedestrians, which is unsafe. Double parking also makes it dangerous for children to cross the street, because cars impede their views or the views of other drivers. If there is no spot close to the school where you’re dropping off your child, look for one a block or two away.

Do not pass a stopped school bus. This law applies to all lanes of traffic, in both directions. A bus’s red flashing lights mean that all other vehicles must stop. Children may be crossing the street, and the bus itself often blocks drivers’ view. Flashing yellow lights mean the bus is preparing to stop, so you should be, too. Think of school buses as moving traffic lights.

Parents should review bus stop safety with their children. They should wait on the sidewalk a safe distance from the road, and cross the street at least 10 feet in front of the bus, so the driver can see them.

Some driving instructors will tell you to expect other drivers to do the wrong thing, and prepare to react safely when they do. Likewise, expect children to act unpredictably, without regard for their safety. As adults, our job is to be prepared to react with safety in mind.

Let’s all resolve to end the school year next June without any school-zone mishaps caused by inattentive driving. Drive safely, and keep our children safe.