The school year stretches from late summer to late spring every year, with children generally enjoying the summer off from their studies. Safety experts sometimes highlight the summer months as particularly dangerous, as more teen drivers on the road can lead to more devastating collisions.
However, there are also many traffic safety hazards associated with the school year. When there are more children and parents on the roads heading to and from school throughout the week, there are more opportunities for devastating collisions. While the exact hazards that motorists face depend on where they drive and when, many motorists encounter all three of the hazards below routinely throughout the school year.
1. School buses
Early in the morning and in the mid-afternoon, school buses flood surface streets. They make frequent stops at residences and even railroad tracks. The slow movement and frequent stops of school buses can lead to traffic congestion and also road rage responses from other drivers. School bus collisions, which occur more often than people realize, can lead to injuries for dozens of children and devastating damage to vehicles struck by school buses.
2. Teenage commuters
Young adults with driver’s licenses can transport themselves and possibly their siblings to their school every day. As such, first-shift commuters are at risk of crossing paths with inexperienced teen drivers. Young adults who lack experience may struggle to respond to heavy traffic conditions appropriately. They may also be vulnerable to distraction caused by teenage passengers or mobile devices.
3. Young pedestrians
In many communities, some children walk to and from school. While schools often have crossing guards at locations near school facilities, children may walk from many blocks away. They may need to cross multiple roads and may not always monitor their surroundings as carefully as they should. Those driving to work in the morning or in the mid-afternoon when school lets out for the day generally need to be very careful about watching for minor pedestrians on their way to and from class.
Learning more about seasonal traffic hazards throughout the school year can help people focus on the most important safety concerns. Leaving school buses plenty of space, watching for young pedestrians and reacting appropriately to questionable teenage driving can limit the likelihood of a major wreck.
Those involved in collisions related to the weekday school commute may need help evaluating their circumstances to pursue compensation from the appropriate party, and that’s okay.
