As the 2017-18 school year begins next week and the week thereafter, drivers will need to readjust to sharing roads with schoolchildren and school buses.
For the past two months, those of us commuting to work on weekday mornings have enjoyed a reprieve from navigating around yellow school buses, crossing guards, and children and parents crossing busy streets. That break from the stress of early-morning driving is about to end.
Many commuters plan their routes around the school-bus schedule during the academic year. A few minutes of tardiness in the morning often means finding an alternate route to avoid the buses.
That period of relative ease on our roads is now finished. We must return to exercising extreme caution during morning rush hour, when everyone is rushing to reach school, work, and other destinations.
We urge all readers to remember that school will resume shortly and to remain vigilant for children traveling to school.
The few extra seconds—or even minutes—required to drive safely and comply with laws about stopping for school buses and yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks is insignificant compared to the potential consequences of prioritizing speed over safety.