It’s hard to believe, but Labor Day is right around the corner, and following that, the start of the 2025-2026 school year.
That likely brings relief from parents and instills students with dread. But what neither may realize is that this time of year has its own special hazards.
What’s so dangerous about the new school year?
It heralds a change, this transition from languid summer days to the twice-daily bus routes and the uptick in neighborhood foot traffic. Drivers who aren’t parents or grandparents of school-age children can easily forget about slowing down again for school zones or worse, try to pass stopped buses.
Should parents worry about the buses?
Studies have shown that less than one percent of traffic deaths happen to children in transit to and from school on buses. While people can and have debated the need to install seat belts on school buses, the design of the buses focuses on children’s safety.
More worrisome factors
Parents’ concerns should instead hone in on the problems of distracted driving and speeding. Both can cause drivers’ negligence to wreak horrific damage on pedestrians, including Brooklyn schoolchildren.
Driver impairment can also be deadly to any victims on foot or in school buses. While drivers must pass drug and alcohol screens, that doesn’t prevent someone from slipping through the cracks. Another impaired driver in their own vehicle could be found at fault both criminally and civilly.
When justice must be sought
Even when no criminal charges arise from an accident involving pedestrians, parents of injured school children can still fight for civil justice for the losses, injuries and damages suffered by their children.