The crisp Fall air has returned to make for somewhat cooler mornings and beautiful changing colors on the leaves of trees. It also means that school is back in session, and that means seeing those school zone flashing lights turned on once again in areas around town where schools are.

signs- school zone related accidents conceptEvery single person who passes by any of those signs should know some facts about school zone related accidents.

School Zone Accident Issues By The Numbers 

The best way to understand the seriousness of school zone safety issues is to present some numbers that help make the case that extra caution should be given to driving in these areas. Let us now take a look at some information provided by SafeKids.org. They are a safety advocacy organization dedicated to keeping children safe: 

  • 5 teen pedestrians are killed by vehicles in the United States every week 
  • Approximately 33% of all vehicles use unsafe drop-off or pickup behaviors routinely
  • Around one in four teenagers is a distracted walker 

Each of these facts points to the dire need to have increased awareness brought to the fact that school zones are places where one should be on the highest alert. 

How To Drive Safely In School Zones 

Each individual must make active choices to drive safely in school zones. They are empowered to make the right choices by following some general guidelines that can keep them and pedestrians in school zones safe as detailed by Edmonds: 

Remember That Children Are Hard To Predict- Do not expect children in school zones to follow all of the traffic laws. Expecting them to violate some of these rules can keep you more alert and prepared for this likelihood. 

Mind Crosswalks And Traffic Lights- If you see the flashing lights informing you that you need to slow down while in a certain area, actually pay attention to those and obey their commands. 

Budget Extra Time Into Your Commute If You Travel Through A School Zone- Prepare ahead of time for extra time added on to your commute in the morning if your journey will take you through a school zone at any point. A lot of accidents are caused when people do not accurately estimate the amount of time it takes them to get from Point A to Point B. 

What To Do If An Accident Happens

The safety of everyone involved in any kind of accident is obviously supremely important. Anyone involved in an accident in a school zone should make sure that everyone around is physically unharmed. Authorities and medical personnel must then be called to the scene. It is vital to take down as much information about the scene of the accident as possible no matter what your role in it was. This includes things like contact information and license plate numbers. 

Once all of those things are done it may be time to contact us. As experienced attorneys, we know the ins and outs of the justice system and how to make it work for our clients. You can see our results page for testimonials from previous clients who believe in us. View that information and get in touch to figure out your next steps.