With the school year in full-swing and the end of daylight savings time approaching, it’s important to be extra cautious in school zones. Frighteningly enough, parents driving in school zones have been slacking off when it comes to driving safety.
The Study
In a recent survey on school zone safety by the British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA), researchers asked over 300 school faculty and over 400 parents what they were seeing in their school zones. What they found was that the percentage of parents who were driving in a hostile/aggressive manner around school zones jumped from 51 to 66 percent in one year.
BCAA’s survey found that there was also an increase in unsafe driving behavior in school zones. When dropping off or picking up kids, over 80 percent of parents didn’t follow traffic rules. The highest offenses included not stopping at a marked crosswalk (82 percent), speeding (93 percent) and distracted driving (82 to 86 percent).
The study may have been conducted in Canada, but the takeaways are the same across the world. We could all stand to take driving safety more seriously, especially in school zones during the school year.
Safety is Key
Breaking the rules of the road is dangerous. Sometimes, parents break the rules out of stress or being rushed. So make sure you give yourself enough time to get your children to and from school safely, especially when the school zone becomes congested. In addition, you should always approach crosswalks cautiously, check your speed, and come to a complete stop when pedestrians are crossing.
It may be frustrating when school zones get busy and you’re in a hurry. But being patient and courteous is better than being hostile. Aggravating a situation can increase the risk of unsafe driving behaviors.
Bottom Line
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