Editorial: Ringing in the new school year safely

Maybe you're the type of person eagerly anticipating that first pumpkin spice latte on a crisp morning. Or you're the sort that is desperately ignoring the ever earlier onset of dusk. Either way, there's a sure sign of the impending change in the seasons coming this week: the return of school buses, backpacks and the clanging of class bells.  

For public school students in Columbia Falls, Kalispell and Whitefish, summer ends on Wednesday and a new school year, undoubtedly filled with new friends, new teachers, and new academic and athletic adventures, kicks off. After a long and hot summer, though, there's bound to be an adjustment period — inside and out of the classroom.  

While pupils across the Flathead Valley might be busy trying to dredge up last year's lessons, the rest of us will need to once again remember that we're sharing the road with students — on foot, on bicycle and aboard school buses.   

There were 962 fatal school transportation-related traffic crashes resulting in 1,069 deaths from 2015 to 2024, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Of those, 119 were killed in school transportation vehicles, according to the federal agency. 

That's a stark reminder that everyone must do their part to keep the community's children safe as they head to and from the classroom.  

Thankfully, it's not that hard. 

Remember to slow down when a bus's yellow lights begin to flash. Make sure to halt 30 feet from a stopped bus with flashing red lights. If a bus stops to let off students at a four-way intersection, remember that vehicles are barred from turning left or right or passing the bus.  

In the case of a road with a raised median, all vehicles headed in the same direction as a bus must stop with it. On a non-divided highway or two-lane road, vehicles heading in either direction must halt when the stop arm of the bus is extended.  

Sure, getting caught passing a stopped school bus comes with a fine, but a hit to the wallet shouldn't be the thing deterring reckless driving around the valley’s youngsters. 

Students aren’t just at risk at the bus stop. During that same period from 2015 to 2024, there were more pedestrian fatalities stemming from school transportation related wrecks than among those on a school vehicle, according to the federal traffic safety agency. 

Of the 162 pedestrians killed in that period, 26% were between the ages of 5 and 10. 

Looking beyond incidents involving school vehicles, 2,409 children were killed as pedestrians between 2017 and 2020, according to the Children’s Safety Network. The organization estimates that about 600 children, including adolescents, die while getting around on foot each year.  

With that in mind, motorists should remember to adjust for lowered speed limits within school zones and to keep an eye out for children walking along the side of the road, on sidewalks or using crosswalks.  

As the saying goes, the children are our future. Let’s all work together to make sure they have one.