Back to school traffic reminders: Safety first!

If ads featuring grinning, backpack-clad kids haven’t yet hijacked your social feeds, you’re about to get a seven-ton yellow reminder rolling down your street. Whether you're ready or not, school is *almost* back in session! And with it comes the return of key road rules that you’ve likely set aside for the summer. 

Whether you’re a commuter driving through a school zone, a parent walking your child to the bus stop, or a grandparent wrangling a child into a car seat, the next few weeks are your chance to refresh back-to-school safety habits before roads get busier and more unpredictable. 

For the Love of Prevention, PEMCO’s gathered top tips from local, state, and federal safety experts to ensure every child arrives at school and returns home safely. 

Why is back-to-school such a challenging time for road safety? 

The start of school combines many of the most dangerous road-risk factors: congestion, unfamiliar routes, excitement, and rushing to arrive on time. Throw in kids horsing around or staring at their phones, and you get distraction, too!  

Despite ongoing debates about the need for seat belts on buses, the greatest threats for kids lurk outside school buses, not on them. That’s because buses, even without seat belts, are among the safest vehicles on the road, thanks to their professional drivers, size, and visibility. They’re also “compartmentalized,” using strong, padded, closely spaced seats to absorb crash forces and shield kids from injury. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notes that fewer than 1% of motor vehicle fatalities are children on buses (a staggeringly low figure when you consider the millions of kids who ride buses every day).  

Other cars pose the biggest danger for kids, whether those kids are foot or riding their bikes. Here's how you can cut that risk for everyone who shares the road: 

For ALL DRIVERS – awareness + patience, not speed + distraction  

 Even if you don’t have kids, you’ll want to rethink how you tackle your morning and afternoon routines: 

• Slow down in neighborhoods and around bus stops. Most kids can’t judge speed and distance like you can. Too often, they dart out, thinking they have more time to cross than they do, especially if they’re rushing to catch up with their friends. Be especially careful at intersections and around driveways. And if you have a commute option that avoids bus routes and school congestion? Time to switch until June rolls around again! 

• Understand school zone laws. Once you’ve entered a school zone, slow down – waaaaay down. While states vary in how they define school zones (some go by times, some by the “presence of children,” some specify “playgrounds” or “crosswalks”), you’re usually safe in Washington and Oregon if you remember the rhyme “20 is plenty” whenever you’re near a school. Yes, 20 mph can feel painfully slow, but it’s oh-so-much better than a costly citation or, worse, an accident involving a child. For a deeper dive into navigating school zones, check out PEMCO’s Rules for Cars and Buses. 

• Stop for school buses: Bus riders face the biggest danger of being hit by a car when they’re entering or exiting the bus. NEVER pass a bus on the right, since that’s where kids get on and off. When a bus displays flashing red lights and extends its stop arm, you must stop. Stopping rules vary slightly between Washington and Oregon on multilane roads – see our Rules for Cars and Buses for a simplified rundown – but in either state, stop at least 20 feet from the bus. 
   
  Over the past few years, 26 states (including Washington and Oregon) have passed “stop-arm camera” laws allowing school districts to attach the devices to their buses. The cameras work like red-light cameras to capture images of car license plates when drivers illegally pass buses. The images are shared with law enforcement and can result in citations with steep fines.  

• Respect crossing guards and patrols. Their signals are legally binding. Stop when directed and never block crosswalks. 

• Watch for pedestrians and cyclists. Never pass another vehicle that’s stopped for pedestrians. Always yield at crosswalks and give cyclists at least three feet of space when passing (think wobbly young riders). Look over your shoulder before opening your door to avoid swinging it into a passing cyclist. And when you see a bicyclist (whether coming up behind you on the right or approaching on the left), allow them to pass before you make a turn that would cross their path. Here’s more from PEMCO on Tips for Sharing the Road with cyclists. 

• Turn on headlights. Not only do they help others see you, but they can catch a bit of reflective tape on a kid’s backpack, sneakers, or bike pedals to help you see them. 

• Avoid distractions: Texting, eating, or fiddling with your GPS can wait. In a now-classic study, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that taking your eyes off the road for two seconds can double your crash risk. To learn more about avoiding distracted driving, check out PEMCO’s What You Need to Know About Distracted Driving.  

For PARENTS – arrive early + talk safety with kids 

Here’s what you can do to help school-day mornings start with greater calm and confidence once you’re on your way: 

• Allow more time than you think you need. Many preventable tragedies start when drivers rush to make up time, pushing the speed a little or hastily pulling into traffic. Especially during the first couple of weeks of school, drop zones can be clogged and chaotic until everyone gets into the groove. If you’re walking or driving your child to the bus stop, arrive five minutes before the bus is scheduled to show up. If you’re not sure how long it will take to get there, do a dry run before the first day of school. 

• Beware of blind spots in front of (as well as behind) your vehicle, especially if you drive a pickup or SUV. This video, courtesy of ABC News and Consumer Reports, shows how a short child can “disappear” when standing 15 feet in front of a larger vehicle. If you don’t have a front-end camera or sensor, walk around your parked vehicle before pulling out. 

• Coach kids to be “walk- and wait-smart.” That means always walking with a buddy, putting away earbuds and phones to improve awareness, and practicing how to say no if someone with kind (or not-so-kind) intentions offers them a ride. Explain they need to wait for crossing signals, even if they think they could “make it,” and look both ways to ensure approaching cars really do stop like they’re supposed to. 

• Teach kids the “big six” ways to enter and exit a bus:  

1. Take three giant steps back when you see the bus approach. 
2. Stand still until the driver swings the door open. 
3. Load one at a time.  
4. If you drop something as you're getting on or off, tell the driver before you bend down or turn around to get it.  
5. Never walk behind the bus when unloading. 
6. When unloading and crossing the street, wait for the driver to signal when it's safe to step out.  

For CAREGIVERS – school rules + car seat know-how 

If it’s been a while since you’ve wrangled in the drop-off rodeo or strapped a little one in a car seat, here’s how things might have changed: 

• Know your school’s drop-off rules. Don’t drop off kids across the street and avoid the temptation to double-park. Make sure kids have their backpacks ready in their laps so they can simply step out and go when you reach the drop-off point. 

• Join a school carpool. Not only does it reduce the number of cars choking the drop-off lane, but it’s a great way to meet other caregivers, parents, and grandparents. 

• Use the right car seat for the right age. Car seats have changed – for the better. In Washington, kids ages 4-12 need to ride on a booster in the backseat until they’re 4 feet, 9 inches tall. In Oregon, kids under 4 feet 9 inches can graduate out of a booster seat at age 8, provided an adult seatbelt fits properly. (The lap belt should rest low across the hips, and the shoulder belt should lie snugly across the chest, not the neck.) 

We’re all in on prevention because we’re all in on you 

An A+ start to the school year isn’t about “rules.” It’s about anticipating rather than reacting, so you can build safer habits through preparation, patience, and awareness. Small steps – like easing off the gas and teaching kids how to safely navigate their environment – build on each other to help prevent the preventable. For more tips on staying safe behind the wheel, check out PEMCO’s Auto Safety Blog. 

 

NOTE: Information shared here is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. If you have legal concerns, we urge you to contact a law enforcement source or attorney in your community.