The University Health Injury Prevention department is committed to all forms of traffic safety. Our health educators teach kids, teens and parents how to anticipate and avoid potentially dangerous situations in and around motor vehicles.
We focus on practices that make sidewalks, bus stops and driveways safer for your whole family.
Driveway Safety
Did you know about 50 children are injured each week by a car backing over them? Here are some tips to keep that from happening:
- Don’t let children play in the driveway.
- Check under and around your vehicle for children and pets before getting in.
- Remove any bikes or toys from the driveway that could attract kids.
- Assign a safe, easily visible spot for your kids to wait nearby any time you are coming or going in your vehicle.
Safety for New Drivers
- Parents can practice responsible driving and set a good example for their teens.
- Don’t use your cell phone while driving.
- Always wear your seatbelt.
- Only get in the car with someone you know is a responsible driver, especially someone who has not been drinking or doing drugs.
- Let the older kids sit in the front passenger seat and have kids younger than 13 sit in the back.
- Get more teen driver safety tips here.
School Bus Safety
For Drivers
- Follow the speed limit.
- Slow down in school zones.
- Slow down and stop if you’re driving near a school bus that is flashing yellow or red lights.
For Kids
- Stay three giant steps back from the curb until the bus stops.
- Make sure children do not have anything dangling from their backpack or untied shoestrings that could get caught in the school bus door. This leads to rollover injuries and death.
- If you drop something, tell the bus driver and make sure the bus driver can see you before you pick it up.
- Always get on and off the bus one at a time.
- If you need to cross the street, cross in front of the bus, never behind. Take five giant steps in front of the bus, make eye contact with the driver and cross when the driver says it’s okay. Look left, right and left again before crossing the street.
- Use handrails to get on and off the bus.
Request a presentation for your local PTA, school administration or neighborhood association on the importance of school bus safety by calling 210-358-4295.
Sidewalk Safety
- Always use sidewalks. If there is no sidewalk, walk in the grass, not in the street.
- Cross at designated crosswalks.
- Make yourself visible to drivers, especially when it’s dark.
- Make eye contact with drivers at intersections before crossing.
- Look left, right and left again before crossing a street.
- Stay on the sidewalk and walk against traffic.
- When making a phone call, stop walking and find a safe area to talk.
- If using headphones, take them out before crossing the street.
- Put your phone down when crossing an intersection.
Participate in International Walk to School Day or Walk this Way activities by calling 210-358-4295.
Vehicle Trunk Safety
Car trunks are a dangerous place for children. Here are some tips to keep your trunk off limits and teach children to be cautious:
- Lock your vehicle, including doors and trunk, when you’re not using it.
- Keep keys and remote fobs out of children’s sight and reach.
- Teach kids that trunks are for storing items and are not safe places to play.
- Show children 5 and older how to locate and use the emergency trunk release.
- Keep rear fold-down seats closed to help prevent kids from climbing into the trunk from inside your car.