Its time for school

  • Published
  • By Bill Morrow
  • 501st Combat Support Wing Safety Office
RAF ALCONBURY, United Kingdom --  It's "Back to School" time. School buses and heavy traffic are already sharing the roads. Some students will be walking along the side of the road to school while some others will only walk so far as the nearest bus stop. Here are some key notes to share with your school age children.

Pedestrian injuries are the second leading cause of unintentional death among children ages 5 to 14. As a parent you need to carefully consider whether or not your child is ready to walk to school without adult supervision.

· Children who walk to school or to a bus stop must be reminded to:
  1. Look right, left, then right again before crossing the street.
  2. Mind all traffic signals and/or the crossing guards
  3. Walk with a buddy.
  4. Have your child wear bright colored clothing to make your child more visible to traffic.
  5. Remind them that traffic does not stop like it does in the states. They'll need to wait for the street to clear before crossing
When Riding in a Car Remind passengers of all ages to buckle-up

· Safety belts are the best form of protection in the event of a crash, even at slow speeds.
· Everyone needs to be buckled up properly. That means older children in seat belts, with younger children in booster seats and real little ones in child safety seats.

When Bicycling

· As an adult or child always wear a bicycle helmet, no matter how short or long the ride. It's required on base, but useful on or off base.
· Ride on the left, in the same direction as auto traffic.
· Use appropriate hand signals.
· Respect traffic lights and stop signs and crossing guards.
· Again wear bright color clothing to increase visibility.
· Know the "rules of the road." http://www.aap.org/family/bicycle.htm

As adults and motorists get use to morning and afternoon traffic near the schools. Traffic is restricted to enable the buses to access and unload or load the children. Look for the flashing yellow lights and divert so you're not in conflict with the buses. Another point is that the children are let out of school during the lunch hour. They go to the various eating locations on base so keep your eyes open and be looking for them as they may step off a curb or from between cars with little warning. The speed limit is 15 mph near the school and 20 mph on base. It's because we have these children on RAF Alconbury that the speed limit is 5 mph less than it is on RAF Molesworth.