August is the time of the year when our children normally return to school after the summer break. There has been nothing normal about this summer and most of our children have been home since March 12! We have not had school traffic, buses, or children walking or biking to school, so I just want to take the time and offer a reminder about protecting our most valuable resources, our children!
When school starts back up on August 24, we are all going to have to adjust to a few things to ensure the safety of our children. Traffic will double during the morning hours, along with children bicycling and walking to school. We all need to take our time, leave a little earlier, and have patience until we get back into some type of routine.
Here are some safety tips if your child is walking to or from school:
- Walk on the sidewalk if one is available, when on a street with no sidewalk, walk-facing traffic.
- Before you cross the street, stop and look left, right and left again to see if cars are coming.
- Make eye contact with drivers before crossing and always cross streets at crosswalks or intersections.
- Stay alert and avoid distracted walking. Stay off your phones and pay attention!
- Wear reflective clothing/equipment during the low light hours, and be prepared for bad weather.
- Here are some safety tips for bicyclist:
- Teach your child the rules of the road and practice riding the bike route to school with your child.
- Ride on the right side of the road, with traffic, and in a single file, if no bicycle path is available.
- Come to a complete stop before crossing the street; walk bikes while crossing the street.
- Stay alert and avoid distracted riding. No cell phone usage while riding and do not wear headphones!
- Make sure your child always wears a properly fitted helmet and bright clothing.
These are just a few tips to get us all back into the groove of good safety practices to protect our children.
If you have any questions, please contact your Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, at 407-348-1100.
Thank you and lets all have a great August and a fresh start to the school year!
Your Sheriff, Russ Gibson
This article appears in the August 2020 edition of the Celebration News