In New York’s Rivertown communities of Dobbs, Hastings, Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow, Irvington, and Ardsley, many children walk to and from school instead of riding a school bus. Walking to school can provide great exercise for a child, but it can also carry personal injury risks that are not present when a child is driven to school.
Choose the Safest Route for your Child
Familiarize yourself with the safest and least safe intersections in your town. When you and your child determine his or her route to school, avoid unsafe intersections if you can. A few particularly dangerous intersections in the Rivertown communities include:
- In Tarrytown, many intersections involving SR 987 can be dangerous for pedestrians. Multiple fatal car accidents occurred in intersections involving this roadway in recent years; and
- In Hastings, SR 11 has been the site of numerous traffic accidents in recent years, particularly the intersections of SR 11 and CR 45 and SR 11 and SR 49.
When planning your child’s route, plan a route that has a crossing guard at each intersection. If there are other children in your neighborhood who attend your child’s school, encourage the children to walk to school together. There is safety in numbers, particularly when there are injury hazards present.
Minimize Distractions During your Child’s Walk
Talk to your child about ways he or she can stay safe while walking to school. Impress the following safety tips on him or her:
- Walk, do not run, through intersections or on crowded sidewalks;
- Do not use a cell phone or handheld gaming device while walking. Be aware of your surroundings at all times;
- Do not speak to unknown adults or attempt to interact with animals, domestic or wild, while walking to school;
- Stay on the sidewalk. Do not walk in unpaved areas or the road’s shoulder; and
- If you ever feel unsafe, use your cell phone to call a parent or the police. If you do not have a cell phone, find a crossing guard, police officer, or another authority figure.
Sometimes, it is simply not safe for a child to walk to school unattended. When there is snow or ice on the ground or during times of the year when it is not daylight during your child’s commute, consider driving him or her to school.
Work with an Experienced Pedestrian Accident Attorney
When your child walks to and from school, he or she can be injured in a pedestrian or car accident. But do not panic or bar your child from walking to school – by exercising proper safety precautions, your child can minimize his or her risk of being injured during his or her commute. But if your child is injured, work with a member of our team of experienced Westchester car accident lawyers at Grant & Longworth, Attorneys at Law, to pursue compensation for his or her damages.
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