COLUMBUS – The most dangerous times for a youngster to walk to school on busy streets are in the morning and afternoon with 3:00 p.m. on Thursday and Friday being the most perilous, transportation and safety officials say.
The start of the new school year means an increase in pedestrian traffic around schools and accidents involving those young walkers, many of which can prove deadly.
Driving around a school bus is illegal and dangerous. A vehicle moving in the same direction as the bus is required by law to stop at least 10 feet behind the bus when it is stopped and its red lights are flashing, signaling that is taking on or dropping off passengers. Vehicles moving in the opposite direction must also stop if it is on a road with fewer than four lanes.
Children on foot or bicycle are often unpredictable. Half of the children under 16 killed while walking on Ohio roadways last year were darting into travel lanes when they were hit, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation, so drivers are urged to avoid distractions and be on guard for youngsters on foot.
“They can dart out into the street in front of you and you really need to make sure that you’re paying attention so that you’re able to stop and avoid any crashes,” AAA Ohio Auto Club senior public relations manager Kim Schwind said.
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During the past five years, ODOT reports that 3,792 crashes occurred involving pedestrians 18 years old or younger — about 758 each year — which resulted in 68 deaths, 13 of those in 2018.
The number of pedestrian fatalities in the state last year was nearly 5 percent higher than the average for the years 2014-18, according to ODOT.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that, nationwide, a pedestrian was struck and killed every 88 minutes in 2017.
In addition to paying closer attention on residential streets and in school zones, motorists are urged to motorists are slow down. A pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling 25 mph is about two-thirds less likely to be killed than a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling at 35 mph, Schwind said. Speed limits in school zones in Ohio are usually 20 mph.
Traffic is heavier once school is back in session so drivers should give themselves extra time by leaving early or modifying their routes to avoid school zones and traffic.
Studies show that more than one-third of drivers roll through stop signs in school zones or neighborhoods, so Schwind says drivers should be extra careful to bring their vehicle to a complete stop.