Putnam Sheriff’s Office Urges Safe Driving With School Back

The Putnam County Sheriff ’s Department is urging parents to teach their children some simple safety tips before they head back to school.

“Very soon, thousands of children will be walking to and from school and school buses- many for the first time,” Sheriff Robert L. Langley said “Everyone who drives has a responsibility to be especially careful during this busy time for youngsters.”

Hundreds of young children are killed each year in collisions with motor vehicles, and thousands more are severely injured, the Sheriff said. Children tend to be at greater risk during the back-to-school period because they are thinking more about seeing old friends and new teachers than watching for cars and trucks. Others are going to school for the first time.

Drivers should be especially cautious in school areas, keeping their speed at or below posted limits and being prepared to stop, on both sides of the street, for school buses with flashing red lights, as required by New York State law.

To help protect children, Langley offered these six pedestrian-safety tips from AAA Northeast’s New York region, the local AAA affiliate:

• Look all ways before crossing the street. • Cross only at corners.
• Obey police officers, school crossing guards, members of AAA School Safety Patrols, and traffic signals.
• Watch for turning cars.
• Be especially alert in bad weather. • Play away from traffic.

AAA Northeast is a not-for-profit member service organization with 65 offices in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island providing more than 5.7 million local AAA members with roadside assistance, travel, insurance, finance and auto related services.