Safety during school drop-offs: 5 expert tips to keep kids safe

Gemma Monaghan, Commercial Marketing Manager at Bollards Direct, has commented on the importance of bollards around schools: 

“Antisocial parking not only causes disruption to traffic and headaches for parents, pupils and local residents but it can also lead to more serious consequences such as road accidents.

Numerous news outlets have reported that local authorities are responding with parking permit schemes, yellow lines and even small armies of bollards. 

Bollards are primarily installed around schools to ensure the safety of children by, for example preventing vehicles from mounting pavements and parking dangerously. Bollards can also have the added benefit of  lowering the levels of air pollution around schools as they minimise the number of stationary cars with idling engines. 

Bollards Direct has also provided five tips for a safer school drop off:

1.Follow school zone speed limits - Familiarise yourself with the speed limit, which is always 20 mph outside of schools. The risk of an adult suffering a fatal injury from being hit by a car travelling just 10mph faster at 30 mph is 50%, but this increases for children. A slower speed will make it easier to stop should a child step into the road.

2. Stick to the designated drop-off areas - Be aware of your school’s recommended guidance on drop-off and pick-up areas, as well as which areas are open for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists and which areas are off limits for your mode of travel. These rules are in place to avoid dangerous crowding and minimise risk to users on foot.

3. Arrive early and park further away - Getting the kids to school can feel like Mission Impossible but the best way to avoid the temptation to park dangerously is arrive earlier and park slightly further away from the designated school drop off point. This will allow you to avoid the queues and means you won’t be contributing to pollution and disruption. Instead, you can enjoy a short walk with your little ones or wave them off before you continue on your journey. The fewer cars around school gates, the safer it is for our children.

4. Stay focused - During the drop-off, keep your eyes on the road at all times as you never know when a crossing guard, a pedestrian or an eager child might appear out of nowhere. Never use your phone and keep music volume low to prevent distractions near school drop off locations.

5. Car share - Reduce the number of cars on the road at busy times by opting to car share. Dropping off your own children and perhaps their friends means less emissions, less traffic and less disruption.