With Connecticut children heading back to school, many parents are concerned with a new study that finds children are often most at risk by distracted drivers when they are heading to and from school.
As CBS News reports, a new study found that one in three drivers displays unsafe driving while in a school zone. Combined with the findings that 88 percent of drivers use their phone while on the road, this creates a very risky environment for children trying to safely get to and from school.
The study was conducted by Zendrive, and it used 3.4 billion miles of driver information near 75,000 schools across the country to make its findings. By looking at quick acceleration, drivers who made hard braking and studying phone usage while driving, the study was able to give grades to each state, most counties across the country and even many schools nationwide. Both California and Florida received a safety rating of F, and 13 other states were given a rating of D+ or below. Kings, New York, and Queens counties in New York were among the top five most dangerous counties for schools in the nation. Connecticut was given a B+ overall rating, although three counties were given a grade of C or C-.
The researchers found that the more urban a county was, the less safe its school zones were. One in 11 public schools is located within 150 feet of a busy road, and these areas with high traffic are six times more likely to have an accident involving pedestrians. Data also showed that afternoon pick-up was 40 percent more dangerous than during drop-off, and the least safe time in a school zone was between 4 and 5 p.m.