AAA: A third of deadly child pedestrian fatalities happen during after-school hours
JACKSON, Tenn. — Add school zone safety to your back-to-school list. AAA said a third of child pedestrian deaths occur during after-school hours.
Shuntae Lacy drops her kids off at Alexander Elementary School in Jackson daily. “I see cars fly by all the time going like 35 and 40 (mph),” she said.
AAA said about 13 percent of kids in the United States typically walk or bike to school. Over the last decade, AAA said nearly one-third of child pedestrian deaths happened between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
“That’s not surprising,” Madison County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Young said. “It’s disappointing and sad.”
Young is a school resource officer at Madison Academic High School and the Early College High School. Young said he sees both distracted drivers and pedestrians. “Looking on their phones, texting, focusing on that instead of concentrating on their surroundings,” Young said.
AAA said research shows taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds doubles your chances of crashing.
AAA said research also shows more than one-third of drivers roll through stop signs in school zones or neighborhoods. Young said slow down and pay attention. “Don’t be a victim,” he said. “Make yourself harder to become a statistic.”
Lacy said she thinks violators eventually get caught. “They need to realize that could be their child that could get hit by a car,” she said.
If you get caught speeding in a school zone, deputies said you could get a ticket, citation, or fine.
AAA also encouraged parents to talk to their teenage drivers. AAA said car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States, and more than one-quarter of deadly crashes involving teen drivers occur during the after-school hours between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
