Nearly 75,000 students head back to class in Brevard County Monday morning. The school district has 65 school resource officers and 28 armed guardians, enough to make sure each school in the county has protection this year. This year the school district is requiring to have monthly active-shooter drills at each school. Meanwhile, the first day of school brings additional congestion: School buses picking up kids, little ones on bikes and parents trying to drop off their kids before work.
Back-to-school safety tips
From the .The National Safety Council:
- Don't block the crosswalk when stopped at a red light or waiting to make a turn, forcing pedestrians to go around you; this could put them in the path of moving traffic
- In a school zone when flashers are blinking, stop and yield to pedestrians crossing the crosswalk or intersection
- Never pass a bus from behind — or from either direction if you're on an undivided road — if it is stopped to load or unload children
- If the yellow or red lights of a school bus are flashing and the stop arm is extended, traffic must stop
- The area 10 feet around a school bus is the most dangerous for children; stop far enough back to allow them space to safely enter and exit the bus
- When turning left and a bicyclist is approaching in the opposite direction, wait for the rider to pass
- If you're turning right and a bicyclists is approaching from behind on the right, let the rider go through the intersection first, and always use your turn signals
- Watch for bike riders turning in front of you without looking or signaling; children especially have a tendency to do this
- Watch for bikes coming from driveways or behind parked cars