School Safety Tips for Drivers

 It is back to school time in Carlsbad, which means kids will be crossing the street and playing outside.  This means it is time for parents, drivers, and citizens to be extra careful when driving around town.   The Carlsbad Police are offering some important safety tips to keep ourselves and children safe during the school year.

 With kids throughout Carlsbad heading back to school, the City of Carlsbad Police Department offers these important safety tips:

• Serve as a role model with safe driving habits
  
  • Slow to 25 miles per hour and be especially alert while driving near a school
  • Take extra time to look for kids at intersections, medians and curbs
  • Enter and exit driveways and alleys slowly and carefully
  • Watch for children on and near the road in the morning and after school hours
  • Yield to pedestrians
  • Reduce any distractions inside your car, so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings. Talking and texting on the phone while driving are illegal.
• Follow basic safety rules
  • Use seat belts, car seats or booster seats for children
  • Use the crosswalk to cross the street. Do not jaywalk
  • Pay attention to school buses. If the bus is stopped, there might be children exiting or entering
• Talk with children about the importance of traffic safety
  • Teach them how to cross the street at corners and in crosswalks. Watch a video about crosswalk safety.
  • Use a crossing guard to cross the street, when available
  • Teach children to follow safe biking rules, such as wearing a helmet and stopping at street corners and stop signs
  • Remind children not to run into streets or cross in between parked cars
  • Walk with children to school for the first few days to familiarize them with the route and to point out possible traffic hazards
  • Teach children what do if they need help, including how to dial 9-1-1
• Take an active role in helping teens learn to drive responsibly
  • Remind teens they are not allowed to have passengers for the first year that they are licensed to drive
  • Remind teens that texting and talking on the phone while driving are illegal
   

For more information please see Carlsbad, CA.