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Back To School Brings Pedestrian Safety Concerns

Six children write in notebooks at their desks.
www.in.gov
AAA advises drivers to be especially aware and vigilant of surroundings with the start of a new school year.

With students returning to school this week and a subsequent increase in pedestrian traffic, Utah officials and safety organizations are urging drivers to be especially vigilant while on the road. 
 

AAA Utah issued a statement this week encouraging people behind the wheel to particularly keep an eye out for child pedestrians and individuals riding bicycles. Spokeswoman RolayneFairclough with AAA said there is an increased threat on the road as children are traveling to and from school.

“The children themselves present a danger, little ones being pedestrians for the first time,” Fairclough said. “While their parents may have told… them every single good pedestrian safety rule, they’re still little and so sometimes they forget, and so then they dart out.”

AAA reports one-third of child pedestrian fatalities occur during after-school hours. While she assures the public that buses are a safe way for children to travel, Fairclough said danger comes as children exit school buses and are exposed to traffic. 

Fairclough said other dangers during this time of year include bicycle traffic and teenage drivers.

“Especially those after-school hours are particularly dangerous when teens put a whole bunch of other kids in the car and drive. Their driving skills are not as sharp or as refined as they should be, and then they are diverted with all of their friends in the car,” Fairclough said. 

A majority of crashes between pedestrians and bicyclists and motorists occur while motorists are making turns, according to Fairclough. She advises drivers and pedestrians to be increasingly aware in areas where turns are a possibility.

Fairclough said there are over 650,000 school-aged children in Utah, and AAA reports 13 percent of those school children typically walk or bike to school.