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Many parents drive their children to school every day. Unfortunately, a recent study shows that kids may be at significant risk of sustaining a car accident injury during drop-off time. This is because parents tend to be rushed when dropping their kids off and they often engage in high-risk behaviors that put their own children or other kids in danger.

When a parent or other driver breaks the rules of the road or is unreasonably careless during school drop-off, a car crash can occur. The parent or other driver should be held responsible for serious injuries or fatalities resulting from the accident. Ft. Myers personal injury lawyers should be consulted to help victims and their families pursue a claim to recover damages for crash losses.

The Dangers Faced During School Drop-Offs

York University and Hospital for Sick Children joined together to assess the dangers that kids face when they are dropped off or picked up from school.  The results of the research were reported in The Star.  The focus of the study was on collision rates for kids, injury rates in crashes and the driving habits that parents exhibit on a typical day. 

The research was prompted by reports from traffic safety experts and school boards who have noted that high-risk behaviors are occurring each morning and afternoon. Over a 12-year period, researchers discovered that 411 children in the school zone areas studied got hit by a car within approximately 650 feet of the school. 

Of these children, 45 were hit during peak drop-off or pickup times.  64 percent of the children who were hit by a vehicle had to be rushed to the hospital as a result of the injuries sustained in the crash.

Some of the different kinds of behaviors that parents were observed engaging in as they dropped their kids off at school included:

• Doing U-turns during rush hour in front of the school
• Blocking loading zones intended for wheelchair use
• Not stopping their vehicles when letting their children out of the car
• Not putting their vehicles into park when letting children outside of the car
• Stopping in the middle of the road to let children out of vehicles
• Stopping on the opposing side of the road so children have to jaywalk amidst the traffic rush
• Double parking

In 88 percent of school areas included in the study, parents engaged in these or other high-risk behaviors. There were only 12 percent of schools where parents followed the rules.

Not only did many parents engage in these high-risk driving habits, but reports indicate that many parents end up getting angry and even fighting with traffic safety officers or principals who challenged their behavior and told them to drive more carefully.

Parents and other drivers have a responsibility to every kid in a school zone or school parking lot to drive carefully, no matter how rushed they are to drop their children off and get to work. When a motorist engages in dangerous behavior and a crash occurs, victims and family members should get help with a damage claim as soon as possible. Contact the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. today to discuss your case.