Back To School: 5 Safe Driving Tips To Avoid Accidents

Reviewing back-to-school driving tips is one of the best ways you can prepare for the fall.

As schools all over your hometown call class back into session, the number of children walking near the roadways increases significantly. A number of additional cars are also on the road, with parents on carpool duty once again.

Keep the following top driving tips in mind when you buckle up and drive toward a school zone, and you’ll avoid accidents and keep your car off the tow truck:

Drive, But Prepare to Brake

When you’re making your way through school zones, don’t rush. From parents slowing their vehicles to drop their children off at school to children darting out from between cars, you should be prepared to brake at all times.

Coast when you are near schools and keep your foot over the brake pedal so you can be sure to react as fast as may be necessary to avoid an accident or save a life.

Observe School Zone Speed Limits

A list of driving tips has to include a note on speeding. School zone speed limits are set to protect innocent children. It’s not a suggestion — it’s a necessity.

Make sure you keep your speed within the limit, whether that’s 25 mph or 15 mph. It can differ depending on the school zone.

Watch Out for New Drivers

You might think you don’t have to be extra careful near a high school, but you’d be wrong. 

Yes, high-school-aged kids are less likely to suddenly dive into traffic, but most have also just received their license. When they’re groggy and tired and driving to school, or when they’re trying to leave the school zone as fast as possible after the final bell, new drivers may be more likely to make mistakes.

Stay on the defensive and be ready to react.

Take Extra Care to Avoid Pedestrians

Countless children walk to school each day and are not injured. But you don’t want the exception to be a child in your neighborhood.

According to the National Safety Council, 119 school-aged pedestrian children died between 2003 and 2012. By taking extra care to observe careful driving tips, stopping before crosswalks and pausing before driving by a parked school bus, you could save a life.

Never Pass a School Bus

As frustrated as you may feel to be stuck in traffic behind a school bus, never pass the bus from behind unless it’s parked and the yellow and red lights are turned off. Not only is passing a bus a safety hazard, it’s also a crime.

Observe these five driving tips so that the back-to-school season unfolds smoothly and safely in your town, and remember to call Stauffer’s whenever you need towing.