CFPD Back to School Safety Tips

To prepare community members for the back-to-school season, the CFISD police department
issued a series of back-to-school safety tips on social media prior to the first day of school on Aug. 24.

Although the tips are especially important as commuters transition from the summer vacation to the school season, Chief Alan Bragg recommends keeping these tips in mind the entire school year so 2015-2016 can be as safe and rewarding as possible:

1. Allow extra time for travel and heavy traffic during the first couple weeks of school.
2. Carpool to reduce the number of vehicles at the school.
3. Observe the 20 mph school zones.
4. Use of cell phones in active school zones is illegal.
5. When school zone lights are flashing, slow to 20 MPH and yield to pedestrians crossing the crosswalk or intersection.
6. School Buses:  If the red lights are flashing and the stop arm is extended, traffic must STOP!
7. Always stop for a school crossing guard holding up a stop sign.
8. Never pass a vehicle stopped for pedestrians!
9. Double parking is DANGEROUS; it blocks visibility for other children and vehicles
10. Do not load or unload children across the street from the school!
11. The area 10 feet around a school bus is the most dangerous for children; stop far enough back to allow them space to safely enter and exit the bus.
12. Be alert; children often are unpredictable, and they tend to ignore hazards and take risks.