A New School Year Begins in Iowa

Guest Editorial by: Randy Williams, president of AAA Minnesota/Iowa

BURNSVILLE, Minn., Aug. 18 -- Preparing for the 2005-06 school year is important to parents, teachers, children and another important group often forgotten -- motorists. AAA Minnesota/Iowa urges motorists to keep their eyes open and their minds alert in its "School's Open - Drive Carefully" program.

One-fifth of all children 14 years old and younger who die in motor vehicle crashes are pedestrians, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. These pedestrian fatalities are more likely to happen in the afternoon hours, when school is letting out.

Children get caught up in the excitement of 'back-to-school' season and forget to look out for cars. Many youngsters have trouble making accurate judgments about traffic speed and distance. Children also have a tendency to dart into the street without looking for oncoming traffic and have been provided with little instruction on the right way to cross the street.

Motorists need to be particularly alert in areas where children are present, typically in school zones, playgrounds and bus stops. Moreover, children can be vulnerable in areas with heavy traffic volume, street parked vehicles, higher posted speed limits and few pedestrian-control devices.

School Bus Safety is a concern that often goes overlooked and in 2004, the Iowa Legislature voted, almost unanimously, for an improvement in Iowa's School Bus Safety Law. Iowa's law states that if a school bus driver witnesses a vehicle passing a school bus while the bus' "stop" arm is extended for a passenger pick-up or drop-off, the driver of the bus can submit a violation to local law enforcement. The violation is subject to penalty based on a positive identification and does not warrant identification of the driver. This addition to Iowa's school bus safety law, referred to as "permissible inference", will help Iowa's school bus drivers identify violators and ultimately may save a child from severe injury or death.

The school year is a special time when children create lifetime memories. To help ensure a child's school year does not include a traffic-related injury, motorists must be aware of their surroundings. Remember: "School's Open - Drive Carefully."