I had a recent appointment with my “Five to Go Podcast” co-hosts Devin Kupka and Dan Elliott in Dawsonville at 8 a.m. on a weekday. Forsyth County schools returned on Thursday, Aug. 1, and my commute took me through multiple school zones, at least one of which was on Highway 9. The arterial road had few sidewalks and a brisk speed limit when school zone lights are not illuminated. I could not help but wonder about children and parents that would have to walk to class and how dangerous that must be.
Auto organization AAA does a great job of alerting motorists of dangers both they and pedestrians may face and annually compiles sobering stats on child safety in school zones. The message does not change, nor should it: the faster cars go in school zones, the more lethal they are to children.
That notion sounds like it should be printed in the first chapter of the “Captain Obvious Handbook,” but even AAA’s reminders are not enough.
AAA says one in five children younger than 14 that are killed in crashes are pedestrians. They also note that crash chances increase drastically when people roll through stop signs.
A driver doubles their chances of crashing when they take their eyes off the road for even two seconds, according to AAA.
As many times as we glance at a device or look down at something else, a crash only requires one distraction. With so many more children now on foot in metro Atlanta, we must reset our driving priorities.
AAA reports that children are two-thirds less likely to die when hit by vehicles going 25 mph versus 35 mph. That is drastic and goes great lengths to explain why school zones mandate that passing traffic move at what seems like a snail’s crawl.
Driving at school zone speeds is hard. On that same trip in Forsyth and Dawson Counties, I had to pay much more attention to keeping my speed at the posted limit. In fact, that forced me to drive better in all respects, because I was then paying greater attention.
Teen drivers also need not be forgotten, especially as high school adjourns each day. AAA’s numbers show that one in four fatal crashes with teenagers occurs in the 3-7 p.m. bloc after school.
The mix of afternoon commuters, school zones and buses can make the 3 p.m. hour one of the trickiest on Atlanta roads.
AAA also recommends pedestrians do their best to stay on sidewalks and to look before crossing any streets or parking lots. And students on foot should try to make themselves easier to be seen with light clothing or even reflective material on backpacks and especially when walking to bus stops in the dark.
They also encourage students that take buses to get to their stops early, so they are not running and jutting into traffic. Desperation can easily cause a disaster.
But the main school zone safety onus, by far and large, remains on those piloting automobiles. Drivers need to stay alert, mind posted speeds in school zones, and come to full stops at every stop sign – including the stop arms on school buses.
The cost of travel time and attention pales in comparison to that of an injury or death – or even a ghastly scare – to any pedestrian in a school zone.
Doug Turnbull, the PM drive Skycopter anchor for Triple Team Traffic on 95.5 WSB, is the Gridlock Guy. Download the Triple Team Traffic Alerts App to hear reports from the WSB Traffic Team automatically when you drive near trouble spots. Contact him at Doug.Turnbull@cmg.com.
About the Author
