By Charisse Nadal, Manager, Safety
As summer comes to end, the
back-to-school season will be in full effect.
What does this mean for us? It means that traffic during the morning
and afternoon hours will be much heavier. In addition, this means our postal vehicles
will be sharing the roadways with school buses, child bicyclists, and child
pedestrians. It is our job to be diligent and aware of our surroundings.
Most of the children that
lose their lives in bus-related accidents are pedestrians, struck by a bus or a
motorist attempting to pass a stopped bus. All 50 states have a law making it
illegal to pass a school bus that is stopped to load or unload children. All 50
states require that traffic in both directions stop on undivided roadways when
students are entering or exiting a school bus. Never pass a school bus on the
right. It is illegal and could have tragic consequences.
Watch out for bikes coming
out of driveways or from behind parked cars or other obstructions. Take extra
precautions in school zones. When passing a bicyclist proceeding in the same
direction, do so slowly and leave at least a distance between you and the
bicycle of no less than three feet. If your vehicle is turning right and a
bicyclist is approaching on the right, let the bicyclist go through the
intersection first before making a right turn.
In most cases pedestrians
have the right-of-way at all intersections. However, regardless of the rules,
we as drivers are responsible to be attentive and avoid striking a pedestrian.
Drivers should not block the
crosswalk when stopped at a red light or waiting to make a turn. In a school
zone when a warning flasher or flashers are blinking, you must stop to yield
the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a marked crosswalk
or at an intersection with no marked crosswalk.
Remember that children
are unpredictable, making them more likely to take chances and ignore potential
hazards.
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