With area schools starting back for fall classes, remember to safely share the streets with school buses, pedestrians and bicyclists and provide children with the necessary knowledge to stay safe at school.
The Danville Police Department shares tips on how:
Watch your speed
Increased speed changes your reaction time, and higher speeds entering a school zone could prove deadly if you are unable to stop for a bus or a student that is in the roadway.
Be alert for new traffic patterns
Some districts may have repaved or rerouted specific intersections in and around schools. Being alert to these changes ahead of time prevents confusion and congestion when school actually begins.
Pay attention to school zones
Most districts remark their school zones each year to keep them bright and visible. These safety zones are here for a reason: to allow students to safely cross or disembark from a bus without interaction from other motorists. Traffic fines for violations in school zones are often higher and the penalties more intrusive.
Watch out for buses loading and unloading passengers
When a bus is preparing to stop or has stopped, the bus, passengers and those loading or unloading are vulnerable to passing vehicles, speeding vehicles and driver inattention. Don’t be that driver! Make our roadways safer by scanning ahead for bus/driver actions. Buses are large and yellow and can be spotted for considerable distance. Utilize this as part of your driving safe strategy.
Share the street!
Make sharing the street part of your daily driving habits. Roadways are often more crowded today with pedestrian and bike lanes as added features. These added features should increase our attention and focus, but often we overlook them as a hindrance. Sharing the street is not only courteous, but it is the law in Virginia, so keep up the good work as we all share our roadways.
Buckle Up
A seat belt is your best defense against a reckless, impaired or distracted driver. Did you know that:
- Most fatal crashes occur at speeds below 40 mph and within 25 miles of your home.
- If you’re in a crash and are thrown from the vehicle, then you have a 75 percent chance of being killed. When worn correctly, seat belts reduce the risk of moderate to critical injury by 50 percent.
- Death rates are more than eight times higher when the occupant is not buckled or restrained.
- In 60 percent of fatal crashes, the victim isn’t buckled. However, when worn, seat belts can reduce the risk of fatal injury to front seat passengers by 45 percent.
Cell Phones Down
Do you know…
- Each day, nine people are killed and more than 1,000 are injured in crashes involving distracted driving.
- Using a handheld device while driving is a leading cause of distraction-related crashes. Put the phone down and just drive.