Published: July 17, 2018 | Updated: October 31, 2019
School has started for many students and with that comes the back-to-school hustle and bustle — kids walking, running and biking through neighborhoods and yellow school buses cruising the streets.
“Whether children walk, ride their bicycle or take the bus to school, it is extremely important that they — and those around them — take proper safety precautions,” said Sharon Rengers, R.N., manager of Norton Children’s Prevention & Wellness.
“Drivers should double- and triple-check intersections,” she said. “Just when you think everything is safe, a child can seemingly appear out of nowhere and dart across the street when you least expect it. Making full stops at stop signs and red lights before turning will give you the time you need to be completely sure the coast is clear.”
Rengers advises drivers to also scan the road constantly when entering a marked school zone.
“More bus passengers are killed while unloading or loading each year than are killed while traveling inside a school bus,” she said. “When a school bus stops with its red brake lights flashing and/or its stop sign raised, you must stop from either direction until all kids are safely across the street and the bus lights stop flashing.”
About the expert: Sharon Rengers, R.N., is the manager of child advocacy at Norton Children’s Prevention & Wellness.