It’s that time of year again, when kids head back to school. Parents buy their children new school clothes, shoes, and school supplies to get them ready. Some parents even go the extra mile by talking to their children about appropriate behavior in the classroom and on the playground. But one thing that is often overlooked is street safety. Sadly, more and more accidents have been occurring that involve children in crosswalks, around cars, and in school zones.
More often than not, accidents that occur around school zones are not the fault of the children that end up injured, but rather the fault of negligent drivers. Stop sign violators commonly cause crashes that lead to serious injuries to children. Although parents cannot protect their children every minute of every day, they can warn them of stop sign violators and teach them how to behave around vehicles and how to cross the street safely.
In order to prevent your child from sustaining injury in a car accident, there are some important tips to discuss with your child, including:
- Look both ways before you cross the street.
- Make sure there is an adult with you before crossing the street.
- Cross only in a crosswalk.
- Make eye contact with the driver of the vehicle.
- Move out of the way of any moving vehicle.
In order to protect your children from negligent motorists and avoid car crashes, talk with them about safety – safety when playing in the street, crossing the street, and being around cars in general. Although you may have good intentions for protecting your child, even the safest parent or child cannot ever be completely safe from car accidents.
Sadly, drivers often participate in distracted driving, even when they are driving in school zones or in residential neighborhoods where there are children playing outside. Many different things, such as texting while driving, the glare of the sun on a dirty windshield, or inattentive driving, can cause a motorist to crash.
If your child was hit by a negligent driver, do not hesitate to get in touch with our Atlanta accident firm – we have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for our clients.