Thousands of students are returning to school in Douglas County on Monday, Aug. 8. Whether they walk, bike, skate, or drive to school, it takes everyone, including those driving in the vicinity of schools, to ensure students arrive safely.

The Douglas County School District encourages students to walk, bike or bus to school whenever possible, causing less congestion with vehicles, and reducing the chances for accidents in and around school zones.

To promote safety in school zones, Douglas County Government’s traffic engineers have worked closely with the School District and the Sheriff’s Office to ensure students have safe routes to school and that those preferred routes are marked. This year, Douglas County also upgraded 80 flashing school zone speed limit signs to ensure they are always working and timed appropriately.

It is important that pedestrians of all ages pay attention for cars while traveling to and from school, and that those dropping off children, and those traveling through school zones, use extreme caution, drive slowly and keep an eye out for children.

Students who walk, bike or skate to school are asked to follow these simple steps:

–Choose a safe route to walk to school with less traffic and intersections, avoid crossing busy or high-speed streets, and limit the number of streets crossed.

-Look for traffic at every driveway and intersection. Be aware of drivers in parked cars that may be getting ready to move.

-Obey all traffic signs and signals and wait to walk across the street until no traffic is coming. Listen to crossing guards if present, and walk, don’t run, bike or skate, across the street.

Learn more now about School Zone safety including tips for drivers.