City of Rochester
News Release
(Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018) – Mayor Lovely A. Warren today urged Rochester area motorists to demonstrate appropriate caution as Wednesday, Sept. 5, is the first day of school for Rochester City School District students.
“The start of the school year generates more traffic on the roads, along with school buses and young walkers,” said Mayor Warren. “Morning and afternoon commuters should keep this in mind and give themselves extra time to travel safely. Help our children stay safe on their routes to school and home.”
Mayor Warren also asked motorists to consider becoming a member of the Rochester Pace Car Program.
The Pace Car Program encourages motorists to sign a pledge to drive safely and responsibly and display a Pace Car sticker on the back of the vehicle. By doing so, they are informing the drivers behind them that they will not drive over the speed limit, won’t drive in bike lanes and will yield to pedestrians, among other safe-driving practices.
To sign the pledge, motorists can visit www.RocPaceCar.com or visit any of the City’s four Neighborhood Service Centers.
The National Safety Council offers several suggestions to remember for back-to-school traffic safety. They include:
- Sharing the Road with School Buses:
- If you're driving behind a bus, allow a greater following distance than if you were driving behind a car. It will give you more time to stop once the yellow lights start flashing. It is illegal in all 50 states to pass a school bus that is stopped to load or unload children;
- Never pass a bus from behind – or from either direction if you're on an undivided road – if it is stopped to load or unload children;
- If the yellow or red lights are flashing and the stop arm is extended, traffic must stop;
- 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;
- Be alert; children often are unpredictable, and they tend to ignore hazards and take risks.
- Sharing the Road with Young Pedestrians:
- Don't block the crosswalk when stopped at a red light or waiting to make a turn, forcing pedestrians to go around you; this could put them in the path of moving traffic;
- In a school zone when flashers are blinking, stop and yield to pedestrians crossing the crosswalk or intersection;
- Always stop for a school patrol officer or crossing guard holding up a stop sign;
- Take extra care to look out for children in school zones, near playgrounds and parks, and in all residential areas;
- Don't honk or rev your engine to scare a pedestrian, even if you have the right of way;
- Never pass a vehicle stopped for pedestrians; o Always use extreme caution to avoid striking pedestrians wherever they may be, no matter who has the right of way.
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News media: For more information, contact Interactive
Media Editor Patrick Flanigan at 428-7135.