Back-to-School Traffic Means Danger for Pedestrians

An estimated 13 percent of America’s 55 million school-aged children will walk or bike to school this year. With recent data indicating an uptick in fatal pedestrian crashes, motorists and AAA School Safety Patrol members must be especially vigilant in their efforts to keep these students safe.

The afternoon hours are particularly dangerous for walking children, as during the past decade one-third of child pedestrian fatalities occurred between 3 and 7 p.m. More than 1,200 children lost their lives during these after-school hours between 2000 and 2010.

After almost a decade of declining pedestrian crash fatalities, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported a 4 percent increase in the number of these tragedies during 2010. In this most recent year of data, 4,280 pedestrians died.

Ohio’s numbers mirror the national trend. According to Ohio Department of Public Safety crash data, the following number of pedestrians died in crashes during the past two years:

• 2010: 98 pedestrians (a 4 percent increase from 2009), including 8 children, ages 0-15,
• 2011: 110 pedestrians (a 10 percent increase from 2010), including 13 children, ages 0-15.

After an especially deadly year for pedestrians on Ohio’s roads, it’s important that motorists take the following steps to keep students safe this school year:

• Slow down: A pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling 20 mph is about two-thirds less likely to be killed than a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling at 30 mph.
• Eliminate distractions: Ohio’s adult texting while driving ban and teen hand-held wireless ban takes effect Aug. 31. This serves as a reminder to put down the phone while driving.
• Come to a complete stop: Research shows that more than one third of drivers roll through stop signs in school zones or neighborhoods.
• Watch for bikes. Children on bicycles are often unpredictable; expect the unexpected.
• Brake for buses. Motorists in a hurry may be tempted to zoom around a stopped school bus; it’s dangerous and against the law.
• Plan ahead. Traffic is heavier once school is back in session. Drivers should give themselves extra time by leaving early or modifying their routes to avoid school zones.

AAA School Safety Patrollers work to keep their fellow students safe. In Ohio, about 6,000 student patrollers at more than 200 schools stand outside each day to ensure their peers make it to and from school safely. It’s a responsibility these students take seriously, and one that has been known to save lives.

Nationwide, AAA’s School Safety Patrol Program is the largest safety program in the world, with more than 500,000 patrollers in 30,000 schools. Since the program started in 1920, Safety Patrollers have saved nearly 400 lives.

Since 1946 AAA has been dedicated to helping reduce the number of school-related pedestrian injuries and fatalities with the School’s Open – Drive Carefully campaign.