Do Your Children Know The Basics Of Walking To School?

October is International Walk To School Month and as such we are bringing awareness to the safety procedures that all children, regardless of age, should take when walking to school to avoid a Connecticut pedestrian accident.

At an early age students are very excited to learn the rules and get the chance to walk to school giving them some independence.  As they get older, students have a tendency to get lazier with the rules and do not always follow them leaving them vulnerable to accidents and injury.  It is important that whenever you have a child walking to school, no matter her/his age that you go over some basic safety procedures with them.

1. When crossing the street, always use a crosswalk.  Remind your child that in Connecticut, a recently passed Connecticut law says that they should now signal to on-coming traffic with a wave that they are intending to cross the street.  Drivers are then required to slow to a complete stop to let the child cross.  
2. Make eye contact with a driver before you cross the street.  You do not want your child to get into a situation where she/he thinks the driver saw them and in fact the driver was not paying attention at all.
3. Leave your phone in your pocket or backpack.  It can be tempting for a child to check a phone when on the way to school, but distracted walking (as well as distracted driving) can lead to injuries for students walking to school.  Students should always leave their phones put away until they safely arrive to or from school.
4. Always walk on sidewalks or paths.  Remind your child that if she/he is walking on a road that has sidewalks or even a pathway away from the road, that is the safest place they can be.  Spending time walking in a breakdown lane or on the road itself can be dangerous.  

Children are never too old to have a refresher of the rules of walking to school.  With older kids you may get an eye roll or your kids may indicate how uncool you are, but you will be cool when your child avoids a Connecticut pedestrian accident and does not get injured or worse. 

During this month, International Walk To School Month and every month, the team here at MPMS Law wishes you and your children safe travels to and from school.  Walking to school is a wonderful way for kids to assert their independence, but it also needs to be done safely to avoid injury.