In recent years, the school bus safety accidents have aroused the concern of road traffic safety workers to the traffic vulnerable groups, especially in China, where there are no relevant norms and guidelines specifically for traffic safety protection in school areas.

Simple warning signs such as "Pay attention to children" are mostly set on the road sections near the school, and more than 50% of schools have no management such as traffic police or coordinators during the rush hour, so the security problem of the school area needs to be solved urgently.

The investigation shows that many traffic accidents are mainly caused by speeding, especially on urban roads, where serious speeding is frequent in order to compete for time, and speeding is the most important cause of death.

The research shows that if the vehicle speed exceeds 30 km/h, the damage will exceed the human body's bearing capacity; When a pedestrian is hit by a vehicle with a speed of 50 km/h, the risk of death is about 80%. Therefore, the speed of vehicles should be controlled within 30 km/h on the roads in the school area to reduce the risk of collision between vehicles and students.

Perfecting the traffic signs on campus sections is the basic measure to ensure road traffic safety, so what traffic signs and key points should be set up in school areas?

1. School warning signs

School warning signs are generally represented by the "Pay attention to children" sign, which uses a fluorescent yellow background, a border and a black double pattern. A variety of auxiliary signs, such as "front", "distance" and "arrow" signs, can be added under the signs to enhance the visibility of the school signs. You can also set the "school" auxiliary sign below to remind drivers to pay attention to the school road ahead. The auxiliary sign also uses a fluorescent yellow-green bottom to emphasize its warning function.

This sign is generally the first sign near the campus, and it is set in front of the crosswalk sign or speed limit sign near the campus to warn road users of the starting position of the school and the designated school area. The warning sign of the school in front should be set up on the school land or upstream of the crosswalk.

2. School crosswalk sign

Warning signs should be set up at a certain distance in front of the crosswalk in the school area. Usually, the "Pay attention to children" sign is used in combination with the "front" auxiliary sign or the "distance" auxiliary sign to warn vehicle drivers to slow down. When the school area is located next to the national and provincial trunk highways, the warning signs shall be set in advance.

When the school area is located near the intersection of urban streets, it can also be equipped with an auxiliary arrow sign, which is set at the intersection to warn drivers that they will meet the school area soon after turning, and remind drivers to slow down and pay attention to children crossing the street.

3. Speed limit sign

In order to ensure the safety of the school area, the speed of vehicles should be kept as low as possible, and speed limit signs are usually set up. Regional road sections can use regional speed limit signs, which are set at all entrances of the area, and speed limit lifting signs are set at the exits.

When it is installed in the road section of the school area, different auxiliary signs can be attached according to different speed limit needs, such as the auxiliary signs during the speed limit period. When driving from a section with higher speed limit to a section with lower speed limit, if the difference between the speed limit values exceeds 20 km/h, it is necessary to set a transition section with a length of not less than 0.3km.

The digital form and color of speed limit signs should meet the requirements of speed limit signs and variable information signs in GB 5768—2009 Road Traffic Signs and Marking, that is, when the "school" sign is displayed on the variable information board of school speed limit, it should be displayed with fluorescent yellow pixels, or a yellow flashing warning light can be arranged above the sign to strengthen the warning function for drivers.

The school speed limit sign is generally set at an appropriate position downstream of the warning sign of "school ahead", 60m away from the school crosswalk, or 30m away from the red line of the school's building land or other related activity areas.

END

Effective safety measures, especially traffic speed control measures, can reduce the speed of motor vehicles, reduce the frequency and severity of accidents, enhance the sense of safety of pedestrians and cyclists, and reduce the demand for police enforcement. Accordingly, the road safety level in school areas can be improved and the road traffic safety of vulnerable groups can be guaranteed.