Backpacks and Pencils? Check. Safer Streets? You Can Help.

To make the most of their school days, students need a lot of supplies – but more importantly, they need to get to and from school safely. There's where we can all help.

With San Francisco schools back in session Monday, we're teaming up with our city partners, especially the SF Police Department and the SF Department of Public Health, to remind parents, students and everyone else using the streets how to help keep them safe for our young students.

The city is working with communities to create safer streets so that we can have zero traffic deaths in San Francisco by 2024 – our commitment to Vision Zero.

Traffic engineering improvements alone aren’t the silver bullet that will make traffic deaths a thing of the past. The solution will have to be a combination of smarter engineering, education and traffic enforcement.

It sounds obvious, but it’s important to remember that traffic laws exist to create order and ensure safety for everyone moving around San Francisco.

Speed is critical - it's the biggest factor that determines someone survives a car crash. A person walking hit by a car going 30 MPH is six times more likely to die than a person hit at 20 MPH.

By encouraging people to slow down and obey the rules of the road, law enforcement will help create safer streets for our kids as they get back to school. At a press conference today, SFPD reiterated that message and described their enforcement efforts aimed at back to school safety.

Below are some helpful back to school safety reminders (.pdf) from our partners at the Department of Public Health.

If you drive and drop your kids off, please follow these “do”s:

• Pull into a passenger loading zone for drop-off. If there is no passenger loading zone or no space available, park in a legal parking space further away. Walking is healthy.
• Drop your child off at the curb on the school side of the street rather than crossing into oncoming traffic or having your child run across the street.
• Have your child sit on the passenger side with their backpack so they can get out of the car easily, quickly and safely.
• Talk about crossing safely: Cross at corners, look all ways before crossing, and never run across the street.

If the students in your life get themselves to school, make sure they're well versed on how to bike or walk safely. Here are some great reminders for all of us when we're out on the street.

Crossing the Street Safely

1. Stop at the curb or edge of the street.
2. Look left, right, left and behind you for traffic.
3. Wait until no traffic is coming and begin crossing.
4. Keep looking for traffic until you have finished crossing.
5. Walk, don’t run across the street.
6. Don’t use your phone when crossing the street.

You can find driving “don’t”s and other tips in the full list of back to school safety reminders (.pdf).