School is back: time to re-learn the basics of safe driving

School started last week.

We all know what this means.

We all know what we should be doing to keep ourselves and others safe on the roads. We all know we shouldn’t be fiddling with our phones or trying to navigate through 23 touch screens on our vehicles dashboard in order to turn up the radio when our favorite song comes on.

We all know our hands belong on the steering wheel and our eyes belong on the road. We know that we should be giving ourselves more time in the morning or planning out when we leave our houses to avoid the crunch of last minute traffic of people heading to school and work.

We know that we should have planned out our routes better so that we can avoid the extra traffic that comes by local schools.

We know that we need to stop for school busses with flashing lights, no matter how late for work we are or how much of a hurry we are in. Perhaps if we had set the alarm 10 minutes earlier or hadn’t lain in bed scrolling on our phones before getting up we wouldn’t be so late now would we?

We all know what we need to do to make sure the school year starts safely for the hundreds of area youngsters heading to and from school. Yet, here were area, once again reminding everyone in the community that summer vacation is over and, the roads will be crowded in the mornings and afternoons with school traffic. We are here, reminding people to put down their phones, to pay attention to the road and to above all else follow the law when it comes to school busses, crossing zones and pedestrians of all ages.

Exercise responsibility and don’t let a moment of stupidity result in a tragedy.

We get it. Over the past few months of school being out, it was easy to slip into a routine where your mind goes into auto-drive or your focus is on what tasks or challenges are awaiting you at work that day or the errands you need to run on your lunch break.

It is time to shake off that dangerous complacency and instead focus on being alert to traffic and to what is happening around you. There is no excuse to be surprised when the big yellow school bus turns on their flashing lights in front of you to pick up a child on their way to school.

We all need to do our part to make sure that the school year starts safely and that every person makes it to their destination without incident.

Traffic safety is a responsibility we all share.

The Central Wisconsin Publications Editorial Board consists of publisher Kris O’Leary and editor Brian Wilson.