Back To School

As we approach September, many parents and children across the UK will be getting ready to return to school. While the main focus will no doubt be on ensuring that children have all the supplies necessary to start the school year, it is also important to be aware of road safety. It is important that adults and children are aware of how to keep safe, whether you are driving a car or walking home from school.

Driving Road Safety Tips

If you drive a car in an area that has a school near it, whether you are a parent or someone simply passing through, there are certain steps you should take to increase your awareness of your surroundings. You should:

• Always obey the speed limits and be aware of speed bumps.
• You should be looking for school zone signs and when you are in that sort of area, you should slow down.
• You should obey any lollipop men or ladies who might be helping children across the roads.
• You should be aware of children when you are directly near the school and as you get further away, as they could be walking home. You should be aware that they may cross the road at an inconvenient time due to a lack of road safety awareness. Therefore, it is important to be hyper vigilant in a school area.
• You should never text and drive, but this is especially important in a school zone area where there is a high volume of pedestrians.
• You should not make any U-Turns in a school zone.
• You should not attempt to pass other drivers while in a school zone.
• Unless you are licensed, you should not use emergency spaces or handicap zones to pick up your own children or to park. Similarly, you should not loiter on any double yellow lines near the school.

Walking To School Road Safety

If you are a child who walks to school every day, it is also important that you are aware of how you can keep yourself safe and be aware of traffic. You should:

• Pick the safest route to walk to and from school, using public pavements and streets which are well lit.
• You should try and walk with other children if you can as you can look out for each other and keep safe.
• You should only cross the streets at designated crosswalks, traffic-controlled intersections or pavement corners.
• You should never cross behind or closely in front of a vehicle as this could obstruct your view. You should also not cross in between obstacles like two parked cars or road signs.
• You should be able to safely walk across an intersection. If there is not enough time or you have to run to cross, you should just wait.
• If you are walking home and pass a bus, or you are waiting for the bus, you should not walk into the bus driver’s ‘blind spot’ – the area about 10 feet in front of the bus where they cannot clearly see pedestrians.

If you get the bus home, you should be careful that you and your friends do not mess around physically. No one should be pushed into the road or roughhoused as bus stops are busy areas where there is often low visibility for drivers.

If you ride a bike to school, you should wear a helmet and you should also obey the rules that cars and other vehicles have to obey. You should ride in the same direction as traffic. You should also use hand signals, such as when planning to turn.

By following these tips and tricks you can hopefully remain safe while going to and from school. If you are a driver without a child, it is still important to be vigilant and aware while passing through a school zone, as children are not always as aware of their surroundings as they should be.

Amount of Compensation

The amount of compensation awarded is unique to each specific case. Compensation amounts are mainly determined by assessing the amount of pain and suffering that someone has experienced due to their injuries. Similarly, compensation also assesses whether any loss of function has occurred due to the incident.

For example, if you are unable to complete tasks as you would prior to the incident then it may be possible to account for this through compensation. To view general compensation estimates for different injury types, visit our compensation calculator.

Compensation will also take financial losses into account. If you have had to pay for treatment, have lost income due to being unable to work or have incurred any other costs, then it may be possible to recuperate these through compensation.

Making Personal Injury Claims

If you have been injured due to an accident that wasn’t your fault, you may be entitled to compensation. First Personal Injury solicitors are available to assist you and ensure that you get the compensation you deserve.

First Personal Injury work with both families and individuals across England and Wales, leading them on their legal journey and helping them claim compensation after an accident or injury.