Hard to believe it but kids around the country are heading back to school in the next few days. Penske Automotive Group wanted to remind children and parents of a few safety hints for a smooth school year.
Whether your children are walking, riding the school bus, being driven in a Penske vehicle, or riding a bicycle there are a few tips to ensure they are as safe as possible.
If kids are walking:
- Map out a safe route to school and walk it with your child for a few days so they become familiar with the way.
- Make sure your child crosses at intersections where there is a crossing guard.
- Teach him or her to look both ways before crossing the street.
- Have children wear bright clothing that can be seen by drivers.
- Start a neighborhood school walk by having a parent accompany a group of children to school. Take turns supervising, allowing others to rotate the chaperoning duties throughout the week.
Riding the school bus:
- Check to see if the school bus has seat belts and if so, make sure your child uses them at all times. If no belts are available remind your child to stay seated while bus is in motion.
- Tell your child to wait for the bus to stop completely before trying to board or exit.
Riding or driving in the car:
- Obey the local school bus laws. It is illegal to pass a stopped school bus when its stop signal is extended. Each state has its own rules for the distances you must keep between a following car and a bus, and those distances might be much farther than you think.
- All children should wear a seat belt or use an age-appropriate car seat or booster seat.
- All children under 13 years of age should ride in the rear seat of vehicles.
- If you have a teen driving to school, make sure they drive safely by using a seat belt at all times, limit the number of passengers, and set rules on distractions in the car such as no calling or texting behind the wheel.
On a bicycle:
- Make sure your child always wears a helmet.
- Teach them to ride in the same direction as traffic.
- Show your child the appropriate hand signals for turning.
- Make sure they obey stop signs and traffic lights.
- Put your child in bright clothing to increase visibility to drivers.
