In just a few days, the peace of summer ends with the rush back to school. Before that are the open houses at the schools.

All that means more cars on the road in the morning and more in the afternoon. The folks at AAA are among many urging for drivers to be aware and alert as schools open the doors for the coming school year. The AAA says that over the last decade, nearly one-third of child pedestrian deaths occurred between 3 and 6 p.m.

Since 1946, the AAA has held a “School’s Open — Drive Carefully” awareness campaign to reduce the number of children struck and killed by vehicles. 

To help with that effort, the AAA offers these tips to help drivers avoid the possibility of hitting a child with their car.

• Slow down. 

• Eliminate distractions. According to the AAA, research indicates that taking your eyes off the road for two seconds doubles the chance of a crash. 

• Reverse responsibly. Drivers should check for children on the sidewalk, driveway and around the vehicle and be mindful of any blind spot a vehicle has. Also, children should be instructed not to play in, under or around vehicles, even if they are parked.

• Talk to your teenage driver. Vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teens in the U.S., and more than one-fourth of fatal wrecks involving teen drivers occur between 3 and 7 p.m.

• Come to a complete stop. According to the AAA, research shows that more than one-third of drivers roll through stop signs in school zones or neighborhoods.

• Watch for bicycles. AAA recommends allowing three feet of of passing distance between your vehicle and the bicycle. Also, children on bicycles are urged to wear helmets. 

We all want our kids to get to school safely and to get home safely. Hopefully, these are ways that can be done.