HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WVEC) — As thousands of children head back to school after Labor Day, AAA is sharing tips with drivers to keep kids safe.
As part of its “Schools Open, Drive Carefully” campaign, the organization wants to remind people to slow down.
“We will also be facing a multitude of school buses, school children who are excited about getting back to school, parents, and teachers so there will be more traffic during that morning commute time,” said Georjeane Blumling, AAA Tidewater Vice President of Public Affairs.
Parent Giovanni Burns said there is a real threat to children if drivers don’t slow down in school zones.
“Children are very impulsive, my son included,” said Burns. “He’s seven, he may see the kids across the street and then dart across the street and not really think about it.”
According to AAA, in 2017 Virginia saw more than 220 child pedestrian injuries and six fatalities in children who were younger than 15.
“Children have a much narrower field of vision so they will not see a car coming down the road anywhere near as quickly as an adult would,” said Blumling.
Blunling added one of the biggest mistakes drivers make is not stopping while a school bus stops and unloads kids.
“Kids do get excited and they play around at the bus stops especially and sometimes when they’re kind of playing tag and stuff like that they do kind of jolt to the road,” said parent Reina Cordero.
AAA has several tips for drivers, which include eliminating distractions while driving, slowing down and watching for kids on bicycles.
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