[News Today] School zones riskier after school hours

[LEAD]

A new analysis shows that extra caution is needed during afternoon dismissal hours in school zones. Accidents are more likely at that time, when children are heading home. And with outdoor activity increasing in May, calls are growing for greater awareness and care.

[REPORT]

Students leave school after class.

Children dash across traffic lanes as passing cars and academy buses crowd narrow roads.

Ahn Cho-rong / Elementary student’s mother

It is a school zone, but drivers often do not stop. We often see dangerous situations, so we worry about the children.

School zone accidents have fallen about 20 percent from a year earlier, helped by expanded speed cameras and other measures.

However, the share of serious injuries is much higher than in accidents outside school zones.

More than eight out of 10 school zone accidents involve children walking rather than riding in vehicles, which makes serious injuries more likely.

By time of day, 40 percent of all accidents occur during after-school hours from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., making that period more dangerous than the morning trip to school.

Bicycle accidents are also increasing every year.

One out of six traffic accidents involving children inside school zones occurred while riding a bicycle.

More than 83,000 children were involved in traffic accidents last year, down four percent. But victims per 1,000 children increased after accounting for population decline.

Accidents were frequent in May, when outdoor activities increase, and in August, during school vacations and holiday season. On Children’s Day, 457 children were injured, more than twice the usual level.