AUGUST 11, 2026 — Children appeared from the darkness everywhere around Fort Knox schools this morning – on bicycles, walking, running, even riding powered scooters.
The start of the 2026-27 school year began Aug. 10 and Fort Knox Safety specialist Jared Jones warned motorists to take extra precautions in and around school zones during morning and afternoon commutes.
“Drivers need to be paying attention at all times. Normally, they and pedestrians need to work together to ensure safety for the pedestrian,” said Jones. “However, it’s harder for drivers to work with a pedestrian when the pedestrian is eight or nine years old. Drivers need to understand that children may make sudden movements – they may not always be paying attention.”
Jones said a great start is for motorists to always drive with hands free of cell phones – at all times. They should also obey speed limits and anticipate the movements of children traveling around them as they drive.
“A lot of times children don’t estimate vehicle speeds,” said Jones, “and they misjudge when it’s safe to cross the street.”
That’s not all.
“School buses are the safest means of transportation for getting to and from school,” said Jones. “But we need to make sure that we’re paying attention when we’re operating vehicles around these buses.”
That advice is particularly pertinent this year.
Last month, Kentucky passed a new law, House Bill 7, that expands the safety net placed around school buses stopped at bus stops. Previously, motorists traveling in the opposite direction of school buses on four-lane roads were not required to stop when the bus displayed flashing red lights and an extended STOP arm.
The new law prohibits this if there is no median separating the lanes.
“Some folks think, ‘Well, if there’s a center turn lane that counts as a median,’” said Jones. “The median has to be somewhere for the child to be able to safely stand. A center turn lane is not a median.”
The law includes the approval of installed stop-arm cameras to capture drivers who illegally pass a stopped bus and a first-time offense fine of $300 and $500 fines each time for subsequent offenses.
While the law may not directly affect those traveling on post, Jones said drivers traveling to and from the post will be affected and must come to a complete stop and patiently wait when buses are picking up children at bus stops.
Motorists are not the only people responsible for practicing safety during the start and end of each school day. Parents and their children are, too.
Jones said children are killed or injured each year in school zones.
“The Traffic Safety Administration has stated that over the past 10 years, 44 school-aged children between the ages of five to nine were killed in school zones traveling to or from school,” said Jones. “Out of that, 70-77% of them were pedestrians that were struck by a school bus or another vehicle.”
Jones said it is imperative, therefore, that parents ensure their children understand the rules of the road, whether they’re walking to and from school or biking.
“Make sure that your children are aware of their surroundings at all times,” said Jones. “Make sure that they understand how to dress themselves properly; that if the weather’s cold, they have on a jacket – or if the weather’s hot, they are staying hydrated.
“The things we heard when we were kids still apply – stay on the sidewalks, pay attention to drivers traveling by you, and look both ways before crossing a street.”
Jones said that in fact the National Safety Council teaches that children waiting for a bus need to stand at least six feet away from the curb: “And kids, when you have to cross the road to get into a bus, cross in front of the bus so the bus driver can see you.”
Jones concluded by saying everybody needs to work on safety.
“Here at Fort Knox, drivers and parents and children all have important shared responsibilities,” said Jones. “It’s very important that we all work together to make sure every day that our children arrive at school and home safe.”
In a word: awareness.
Story by Eric Pilgrim
Fort Knox