Texas School Zone Safety

It is fall again, which means that children throughout Texas are gathering up their new notebooks and pencils and heading off to another year of school. It also means that the schools that you drive past around town will once again bustle with kids, buses, and activity. There’s no better time to review some school zone safety tips – even for driver who don’t have school-aged children.

• Drive the speed limit. This safety tip seems obvious, but it is absolutely vital to pedestrian accident prevention in school zones. It’s true that going 25 miles an hour can seem maddeningly slow, but the laws are in place for a good reason. Don’t hesitate to slow down even more than that during the beginning and end of each school day when the roads are at their busiest.
• Don’t just look at the road. Sure, you’ve always heard people say “keep your eyes on the road,” but that can actually be dangerous advice in a school zone. While you want to pay attention to traffic, you also want to keep an eye on the periphery, where kids could dart out into traffic or where a car or bus might suddenly pull out into the road.
• Don’t tailgate. While it is always dangerous to tailgate, it can be especially risky in a school zone, where cars and buses often stop suddenly for pedestrians. In some tragic cases, a tailgater will rear-end a car who has stopped for a child, causing the first car to strike the pedestrian.
• Be careful in school zones 24/7. Some people will only drive with care in school zones during weekdays between school hours. However, it is important to understand that children (and others) often congregate on school grounds at all times, even on weekends and during the summer. While school may not be in session, a sports practice, a PTA meeting, or some other event may mean more pedestrians.

Have you been involved in a Texas traffic accident in a school zone and wonder who was at fault? Speak to a Dallas personal injury attorney today and get answers to your questions.
If you would like to read more about traffic accident law, we invite you to download our free report, Accident Claim Do’s and Don’ts.