The start of the school year is busy, but before your kids head out the door, please take a moment to make sure they understand some important safety tips.

You can start by watching this informative Back to School Safety Video Message from Community Resource Deputy George Hedricks.

Here are some other important tips for parents and children to help keep everyone safe during the new school year:

Walking to School

• Leave early enough to arrive at school at least 10 minutes prior to the start of school.
• Always use public sidewalks and streets when walking to school. If there is no sidewalk, walk as far to the edge of the road as possible, facing traffic.
• We all learned as kids to “look both ways before crossing the street”. This remains important advice, for both children and adults.
• When crossing, make eye contact with drivers and always cross the street at intersections or in crosswalks.
• Teach your children to recognize and obey traffic signals, signs, and pavement markings.

Biking to School

• Obey the rules of the road; the rules are the same for all vehicles, including bicycles.
• Always stay on the right-hand side of the road and ride in the same direction as traffic.
• Be sure your child know and uses all of the appropriate hand signals.
• Ride single file on the right side of the road, with the flow of traffic. Stop at all stop signs, walk bikes across the street and always, ALWAYS, wear a properly fitted helmet.
• In the event of an accident, helmets reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent.

Driving to School

• When driving your child to school, stay alert and never drive while distracted.
• Always obey school zone speed limits and watch for children crossing the street. Remember, the area 10 feet around a school bus is most dangerous for children.
• NEVER pass a bus loading or unloading children. It is also important to learn and follow your school’s drop-off and pick-up procedures.
• Washing your car can be an easily overlooked task, but driving toward the morning sun with a dirty windshield can be blinding. To make certain you can see children walking and riding to school, make sure your windshield is clean, especially during morning school drop-off hours.

The City of Goleta wishes parents, students, school staff, and the community a safe and happy school year.