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School Transportation Accidents include children who are PEDESTRIANS
According to SafeKids.org, every day in the US, over 40 children are hit by a vehicle while they’re walking. That includes walking to school, or even just between cars in the carpool line.
- NEVER cross two lanes of traffic without an adult and without a WALK sign. I took care of a devastating case when a young girl was crossing traffic at a light. The light for oncoming traffic was green, but the driver in the closest lane to her saw her and stopped, and she started to cross, not realizing that another driver was swerving around the paused driver, to pass in the 2nd lane. Often, the driver in the first lane will see the child and stop, but it’s the driver in the SECOND lane that is totally blind to the pedestrian. Just WAIT for that cross-walk light! Also, make eye contact with the drivers in each lane BEFORE you cross.
- Phone down, heads-up while walking. 1 in 4 high schoolers will cross a street while distracted. Time walking to school – even if it’s just from the parking lot – is NOT the time to pick up their phone!
- Only cross at the crosswalk.
- Watch out for parked cars. These can back up, not seeing our smallest munchkins. Teach them to always check if there’s a driver in the driver’s seat, and then be especially careful for them backing out.
E-bikes are an ABSOLUTE NO in kids under 13.
With the advent of e-bikes, kids riding them are everywhere – as are stories of more and more injuries. If your child is asking for an e-bike to ride to school (or just around the neighborhood), here’s what you need to know.
- E-bikes can go extremely quickly – particularly for a child / tween to navigate. Many are allowed to go as quickly as 28 mph, if the rider is peddling and also using the motor. An accident at almost 30 mph – even with a helmet – can be devastating for the rider.
- There’s no protection for the rider. In the ER, we talk about accidents with a shorthand of “versus”. Such as “pedestrian versus car” to denote the mechanism, or “motorcycle vs car”. You can be CERTAIN, that in an “e-bike vs car”, the e-bike (and its rider) will not fare well. There’s simply zero rider protection, for a vehicle that is going quickly, AND amidst general traffic. Just do NOT allow your child to ride one.
Buses are a key source of school transportation accidents – for kids IN them – and those OUT, as well.
Yep – those bright yellow buses are back on the road! Here are two points that I think aren’t discussed enough – and are especially important.
- Most large school buses do not have seatbelts and rely on “compartmentalization”. This includes shock-absorbing seat backs, seats that have relatively high backs, and are close together to sort of “cocoon” the child in place in the case of a frontal collision. BUT, the only way that compartmentalization works is if your child is seated, facing forward, and not in the aisle when the bus is moving. Emphasize to your child (and to your school) how crucial this is, or they’re otherwise the same as an unrestrained passenger. Of note – cocooning only is effective for frontal collisions – it doesn’t help in side-impact or rollover, which is why I’d still love to see seat belts on all buses, but that’s another discussion….
- Buses are dangerous to people NOT riding on them. Of the school-age child deaths from bus crashes from 2006-2016, 54 were occupants of school transportation vehicles – and 137 were occupants of other vehicles. I think of school buses the same way I think of tractor trailers – they FAR outweigh my car, and will dominate any normal vehicle, in a collision. So, I give them ALL the space they need.
Best,
- Dr. Darria
P.S. – Struggling to get your kiddos to sleep for back to school, and considering melatonin? Check my report on melatonin use for children, here.
