For moms, carpooling doesn’t bring a feeling of safety in numbers

Ever wonder how safe your children really are when they carpool to school with another parent behind the wheel? If you feel a twinge of anxiety when they head off in the neighborhood car pool, you are not alone. A recent national survey finds that many mothers have serious concerns about their child’s safety when another parent is driving.

Relying on caravans of car poolers ferrying our kids to classes and after-school activities has become not only practical but a necessity for many families. Nevertheless, seven of 10 mothers polled expressed concern that their children’s safety may be compromised when riding in car pools, according to the survey sponsored by Nissan North America Inc.

Their No. 1 fear is that “children will not be properly restrained in other parents’ vehicles,” according to the survey. They also worry that car pool drivers rushing through hectic schedules could jeopardize safety.

Other major concerns include driver distraction and cellphone use. Four of five mothers believe children’s behavior in a vehicle accounts for the biggest distraction. Parents who might talk too much on a cellphone while transporting children cause 75% of the moms polled to worry.

Ann Ticehurst understands their fears. She has worked as a school crossing guard in Orange County for four years and has seen her share of unsafe driving and inattentive motorists driving kids to and from school, including drivers who don’t bother to keep young passengers buckled up or in child safety seats.

“It can be dangerous,” Ticehurst says. “Some parents are so busy talking on their cellphones while driving to school, they aren’t paying attention. People drive fast, and there are so many more large vehicles that it makes it difficult to see small children trying to cross the intersections.” She has observed drivers blowing through crosswalks while talking on their cellphones. Once, when she tried to get the attention of an SUV driver who was talking on his cellphone and blocking children from crossing the street, the man angrily chastised her: “Can’t you see I am busy talking on the phone?”

In 2003, 97 pedestrians ranging from infants to 18-year-olds were killed in accidents in California, according to the California Highway Patrol. Additionally, 4,755 young pedestrians were injured by vehicles in the state last year, says CHP spokeswoman Jan Venters.

This year, 40 young pedestrians have died statewide in accidents and 2,097 children have been injured, the CHP reports.

It’s unknown how many of the deaths and injuries involved car pools. But traffic congestion and reckless driving near schools have resulted in accidents and injuries.

Many schools in Southern California try to educate parents and students on auto and pedestrian safety. Police often increase patrols around schools in the morning and afternoon.

Robi Welch, a Seal Beach mother who car pools with another family, says she and her chauffeur counterpart have developed a precision plan for navigating five children to and from their respective schools. “Our approach to the afternoon pickup feels somewhat like we are part of a military special-ops task force,” she says.

“We ... are in constant communication until all children have been gathered and delivered to soccer, volleyball, wrestling, choir, piano, crew ... and finally home.

“Traffic is insane,” she says, especially at the local high school, which is undergoing construction. But parents driving unsafely are responsible for some of the dangers, she says.

Some of the scariest car pool scenarios involve teens catching rides with other teens. If you’ve ever been around a high school letting out for the day, you know it can be like you’re on the set of the teen racing movie “The Fast and the Furious.”

At my son’s high school, I’ve seen kids crammed into giant trucks, SUVs and old clunkers, tearing out of the school parking lot, tires squealing and engines roaring.

I remember the first time my children carpooled to elementary school with another parent. I was a nervous wreck. It didn’t matter that I knew and trusted the other mother; I just couldn’t imagine that she could be as protective of my children as I would be.

That was 16 years ago and I still worry whenever my children -- now teenagers -- climb into someone else’s car.

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Jeanne Wright can be reached at jeanrite@aol.com.

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Safety tips

Make sure all children in your carpool are properly restrained in the vehicle. If another parent is driving, insist that your child be properly belted in.

Watch out for children around parked cars. Be careful backing out of school parking lots.

Children should be reminded that just because they can see a car, it does not mean the driver can see them.

Children younger than 10 should not cross busy streets alone.

Sources: Automobile Club of Southern California, www.getstreetsmarts.org