A Few Handy Driving Pointers, Just in Time for Back-to-School Madness (Part 1 of 2)

Even though most people wouldn’t normally associate early July with the back-to-school rush that sweeps through Canada’s residential communities each year, the fact of the matter is that the best kind of preparation happens both early and with an extremely thorough attention to detail. Consequently, it would seem that the best way to prepare oneself for the early fall onslaught as thousands of kids start trekking back and forth from school each day is to get into a back-to-school mindset before the season is actually upon us, and this should particularly be the case where driving habits are concerned. Even though bad driving habits can always be considered dangerous, the danger is compounded when factors like school buses, parents driving to pick up their kids and crowds of students walking to and from school are added to the equation. Thus, the best way to ensure that the worst doesn’t happen is to take special precautions; follow these simple tips and you just might find that your routine during the back-to-school season doesn’t have to be all that stressful.

1. School zones should be avoided if possible. Logically, the best way to avoid the stress of having to navigate around commuting parents, buses and crowds of excited kids is to completely avoid the areas where they’re likely to congregate. This means that school zones, many of which are located in and around residential areas, should be skipped over in favour of routes that are less likely to be populated by back-to-school commuters.

2. Back-to-school driving means more teenaged drivers. Like so many unchanging aspects of life, it remains a fact that every year, more and more teenagers will have gotten their drivers’ licenses and are looking for opportunities to exercise their newfound freedom. Unfortunately, this also means that you’ll likely be sharing the road with at least some of these inexperienced drivers – if, of course, you aren’t in the process of training one yourself. All that is really required given this extra variable is a little more diligence when it comes to minding your neighbours on the roads, but this should be particularly emphasized around school zones, driving schools and anywhere else that new drivers are likely to congregate.