Back to School Means Extra Caution as We Share the Road by Michelle Avola-Brown

As the school year begins, our roads become busier with school buses, parents driving to drop-off lines, teen drivers heading to class, and hundreds of children walking, biking, scootering, and riding e-bikes to school. While the excitement of a new school year is in the air, it’s also one of the most important times to focus on transportation safety.

Whether you’re behind the wheel, on a bicycle, or walking your child to school, everyone has a role in creating safer streets.

Safety starts before leaving home. Parents can help children develop safe habits before they ever leave the driveway. Walk younger children to school when possible and practice crossing streets together.

Teach children to cross only at crosswalks or intersections, obey crossing guards, and make eye contact with drivers before stepping into the roadway. Students riding bicycles or scooters should always wear a properly fit and fastened helmet, ride predictably, obey traffic signs and signals, and avoid distractions like headphones or cell phones that can prevent them from hearing approaching vehicles.

Visibility is equally important. Bright-colored clothing, reflective accessories, and front and rear lights make it much easier for drivers to see riders during early morning commutes.

E-bikes and e-scooters require extra responsibility. These devices have become increasingly popular with students and families, but many fail to realize they are not toys. While they make transportation easier, they also travel much faster than traditional bicycles, often reaching speeds of 20 mph or more. At those speeds, riders have less time to react, and crashes can result in more serious injuries.

Parents need to realize that kids’ brains are not yet fully developed, and they lack the spatial awareness necessary to determine how long it takes to stop on these faster and heavier machines. Riders should learn basic traffic laws and how traffic flows, practice braking, turning, and avoiding hazards in a safe location, understand how quickly speed can reduce reaction time, and never interact with their phones or other distractions while riding.

Riders must obey stop signs, yield to pedestrians, ride in the same direction as traffic whether on the road or on a sidewalk, call out when passing, and avoid weaving between vehicles or pedestrians.

While sidewalks may seem to be the safest place to ride, extra caution is needed at driveways and parking lot entrances. Many drivers don’t even think of looking for someone riding a bike or scooter on a sidewalk, so riders must be prepared to stop quickly and always look for cars entering and exiting parking lots and driveways.

Choose the right helmet. One of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce the risk of serious head injury is wearing a properly fitted helmet every ride.

While a traditional bicycle helmet certified to CPSC standards is appropriate for most bicycle riding, many safety experts now recommend enhanced helmets for riders of faster electric bikes and e-scooters. Look for helmets that meet standards such as NTA 8776, developed specifically for higher-speed e-bike riders, or helmets certified to ASTM F1952 for additional coverage and protection. These helmets provide greater coverage around the temples and back of the head and are designed to better manage higher-speed impacts.

No matter which helmet is chosen, it should fit snugly, sit level on the head, and have the chin strap securely fastened.

Drivers play the biggest role. Drivers should expect increased pedestrian and bicycle activity before and after school. Slow down in school zones, eliminate distractions, and be especially alert when turning at intersections or entering and exiting parking lots, driveways, and neighborhoods.

Children can be unpredictable. A ball rolling into the street or a child stepping off the curb without looking can happen in an instant. Driving at a slower speed gives motorists more time to react and can mean the difference between a close call and a tragedy.

Always yield to pedestrians in crosswalks and provide at least three feet of space when passing someone riding a bicycle. Before opening your vehicle door after parking, check for approaching bicyclists or scooter riders.

School bus safety saves lives. Every school day, thousands of Florida students rely on school buses to get safely to and from school. The most dangerous part of the trip is often getting on or off the bus, not riding it. When a school bus extends its stop arm and flashes its red lights, drivers must stop unless they are traveling in the opposite direction on a divided highway with a physical median. Passing a stopped school bus illegally places children at tremendous risk.

Parents should also remind children to stay at least ten feet away from the front of the bus where the driver can see them and to never cross the street until signaled by the bus driver. Safe school travel depends on everyone working together. Parents can teach safe habits. Students can stay alert and wear their helmets. Drivers can slow down, eliminate distractions, and watch carefully for our youngest road users.

As another school year begins, let’s remember that every child deserves a safe trip to and from school. By sharing the road with patience, courtesy, and attention, we can help ensure every student arrives safely every day.

FEATURED PHOTO- Michelle Avola-Brown, Executive Director, Naples Pathways Coalition

For more safety resources, please visit NaplesPathways.org.
We invite you to get involved in our advocacy work by joining Naples Pathways Coalition or donating to support our mission to create a safe, walkable and bikeable Collier County.
Visit https://naplespathways.org/get-involved

For more information, please visit www.NaplesPathways.org and www.HandsFreeFlorida.org
If you have any specific questions, email me at Michelle@NaplesPathways.org