SPECIAL TO THE REPORTER

As the carefree days of summer give way to the hectic back-to-school season for Shelby County moms and dads, parents should take time to teach and review important safety guidelines with their children.

Every year, unintentional injuries and related deaths happen to children on their way to and from school. Below are important school safety reminders.

-Make sure children riding school buses use them safely. About 23.5 million students ride school buses daily. Although this is one of the safest ways to travel to and from school, injuries do occur. In 1999, 31 children ages 14 and under were killed in school bus-related traffic crashes. An estimated 7,000 children were injured in school bus-related incidents.

– Teach children to arrive at the bus stop early, wait for the bus to come to a complete stop before approaching, watch for cars and avoid the driver&8217;s blind spot.

– Ensure that children on buses stay seated at all times and keep their heads and arms inside.

– Children should be taught to wait to exit the bus until it comes to a complete stop, to exit from the front using the handrail to avoid falls and to cross the street at least 10 feet in front of the bus.

– Review pedestrian safety with your child. Pedestrian injuries are the third leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 5 to 14. In 1998, nearly 730 children ages 14 and under died from pedestrian injuries, and in 1999 an estimated 25,000 children ages 14 and under suffered motor vehicle-related pedestrian injuries.

– Children under age 10 should never cross the street alone.

– Teach children to recognize and obey all traffic signals and markings.

– Make sure children look in all directions before crossing the street. Teach them to stop at the curb or edge of the road, and to look left, right and left again for traffic before and while crossing the street. Teach children to cross the street at a corner or crosswalk