08/15/2026
Twenty minutes. That is roughly how long a kid spends walking to school and walking home again, and it is the riskiest part of their entire day.
NHTSA data shows more school-age pedestrians are killed between 6 and 8 in the morning and between 3 and 5 in the afternoon than during any other hours. Two narrow windows, at the exact times when the light is bad, drivers are rushed, and children are the smallest and hardest things on the road to see.
Here is what actually helps. Walk the route with them once before the first day so they know where to cross rather than deciding in the moment. Teach them to make eye contact with a driver before stepping off a curb, because a stopped car is not the same thing as a driver who has seen you. Bright colors on a backpack do more than people think in morning fog. And the phone goes in the pocket until they are through the door.
None of it takes long. All of it works.
Our members will be out on those routes when school starts back up, same as always.
Share this post before Monday morning. Someone on your feed is walking a kid to school for the first time this week.