When daylight saving time ends at 2 AM on Sunday, November 3, 2024, students will find their school commutes a little darker. During fall and winter, the days get progressively shorter, with some parts of the United States getting dark as early as 4 PM, which means many students will be walking home in the dark. Likewise, there are times of the year when students find themselves walking to school or waiting for school buses in complete darkness.
How should schools and parents handle the issue of students coming and going when the sun isn’t out? Read on to learn ways this safety issue can be addressed at home and in school.
The Danger of Walking or Riding Bikes in Darkness
To put it bluntly, walking or riding a bike when it is dark outside is not safe.
According to the Transportation Research Board, “About 100 students die each year walking to and from school, and nearly 25,000 are injured […] Over the last decade, nearly one in four child pedestrian deaths took place between the hours of 3 and 7 p.m..”
NHTSA further claims, “Most pedestrian fatalities occurred in the dark (72 percent) compared to 25 percent in daylight and four percent in dawn/dusk.”
Note – Walking to school also includes bus riders. Most students have to walk to their bus stops, so if they are riding a school bus to school, they are walking from their home to the bus stop in the morning and from the school bus to their home in the afternoon or early evening.
Sadly, every year students are hit by vehicles while waiting at their school bus stops.
What Schools Can Do to Make School Commutes Safer During These Hours
For school administrators, the safety of their students is critical, and family trust is paramount. This includes doing all they can to ensure kids safely arrive at school and back home each day. Here are some of the ways schools can make the commute safer during hours without sun.
- Add more lighting. Speak to your local officials about adding lighting to school bus stops.
- Petition for sidewalks. Sidewalks are lifesavers. If students do not have sidewalks on their routes to school, speak to local officials to learn what needs to be done to get sidewalks.
- Place seating by bus stops. Rather than having kids standing around in the dark waiting for school buses, place benches a few steps away from the road.
- Host in-school bicycle and pedestrian safety programs. Teach students how to navigate outdoors safely by hosting in-school programs, such as Safe Routes to School and Walk, Bike, and Roll to School.
- Send out public service announcements. Continually release public service announcements reminding drivers to be mindful of students walking and biking to school. Increase PSAs around daylight saving time changes.
- Hire additional crossing guards. Intersections are especially dangerous in the dark. When possible, hire additional crossing guards to protect students at crosswalks and intersections.
- Promote a “walking school bus” program. There is safety in numbers, so encourage students to walk together in what is known as a “walking school bus.” A walking school bus is a group of children walking to school with one or more adults.
- Encourage carpooling as a safe alternative. Consider adding a dedicated school carpool program like GoKids’ as a transportation alternative.
- Provide parents with information about GoKid, a safe school carpool alternative that allows parents to find carpools to and from school with people nearby they know and trust. Gokid is a trusted ride-share for kids. Consider adding their dedicated school carpool program.
What Parents Can Do to Help Students Navigate Darker Commutes
In addition to schools doing what they can to ensure safe routes to and from school, parents can also help their children more safely navigate darker commutes. Here are a few suggestions.
- Petition for safety measures for students. If you know your child’s route is unsafe, such as a lack of lighting or sidewalks, start petitioning government officials. Many parents have found success simply by making their voices heard.
- Examine your child’s route. Before your child walks or bikes the route, go on it with them. Be on the lookout for any dangers and raise these concerns with your child.
- Teach kids basic traffic safety. Children need to be taught the basics of safely navigating traffic, such as what side of the road to walk on and not to wear headphones.
- Dress children in bright-colored clothing. Make it easy for drivers to see your child by dressing them in bright-colored clothing.
- Send kids with reflective gear and light aids. It is wise to add some reflective gear and light aids, such as flashlights, headlamps, and clip lights, to their backpacks.
- Have kids wait away from the road. Teach children not to wait for their bus directly on the street or the corner where cars come dangerously close.
- Join a carpool. Download the free GoKid app and encourage others to do the same.
About the Author
Stefanie Lemcke
Stefanie is the founder of GoKid and mother of two very active girls, Leni and Filipa. After leaving New York City to live in Connecticut Stefanie is loving and adapting to a more suburban life. After having worked with many startups and corporates on innovation and technology she is convinced that there must be a better way of handling families’ transportation needs.
