School zone
I want to draw everyone’s attention to the concept of areas called ‘school zones’ where the speed of a moving vehicle should be restricted to 20km/h to 25km/h (“‘Nothing is worth a child’s life’, readers say after car hit unescorted boy”, Gulf News, May 13).

When the authorities permit schools to operate in any area, all the roads surrounding the school should follow the school zone speed limit.

In Australia, the authorities have even banned jeeps or large cars from entering school parking areas, as they may sometimes miss a child standing behind or in front of the vehicle due to the height of the child - sometimes they are too low to be visible from the driver seat.

[Authorities], please set a speed limit on roads around schools, especially in the hours before and after classes begin.
From Mr Salman Khalid Khan
Dubai

Pedestrians rights
The zebra crossing is meant for pedestrians and they have the first right to cross the road. Asking parents to drop their child at the school gate is unnecessary. Instead, there should be [stricter monitoring] of the motorists. When a jaywalker is hit by a vehicle on an unspecified section of the road, the motorist gets respite from the law as the person is at fault. Similarly, the motorist should be responsible for any accident on the zebra crossing. In the UAE, the law enforcement is admirable. A little extra implementation of the effective laws on motorists should eliminate such incidents. I came across a situation a couple of times when I stopped at a zebra crossing to allow a pedestrian to cross and the motorist behind me started honking and flashing his vehicle's headlights, as if I were at fault. This indicates the lack of awareness or impatient nature of some drivers.
From Mr Manoj
Dubai

Bad attitude
We're focusing on schools and parents — but what about motorists? I have seen some people speeding over the speed bumps in front of schools. What is the imposed speed limit in this area? In Canada, the speed limit is 30km/h from 8am till 5pm in school zones. At a zebra crossing, if a driver spots a pedestrian, who is ready to cross, he or she must stop for this person if the pedestrian signals are activated. In the US and Canada, we do not fear for our children when they cycle to and from school, as motorists respect cyclists and there are specific rules for them. If drivers see a vehicle trying to enter their lane, they must give this motorist a chance by slowing down. But in the UAE, drivers deliberately accelerate to prevent the other vehicle from changing lanes. It has to do with driver behaviour on the road. There isn't enough effort to educate them.
From Ms Safinaz Eisa 
UAE

What is more important?
It's really shocking to read that parents drop their young children off on the opposite side of the road, leaving them to cross such busy roads on their own. Is there anything more important for the parent than the safety of their child? Can't they spare a few minutes to drop the child off in the right place? Additionally, such popular schools should also take measures by placing security guards who patrol the area and prevent such drop-offs from happening on the opposite side of the road.
From Mr Syed Abdul Rahman M.
Abu Dhabi
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Speed bumps
In school areas, there should be more police patrols and speed bumps should be set up after every 150 metres. People don't seem to understand that this is a school area, where young, innocent children study. They continue to speed and endanger the lives of the little ones.
From Mr Zohaib
Dubai
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Think about others
It is pathetic. Motorists must not use the roads as a racing circuit. Instead, [they must] open up their minds to the safety of the pedestrians as well as other road users. The number of casualties due to road accidents is on the rise. Motorists should follow road discipline, abide by the law and maintain mutual respect on roads. Implementing precautionary measures like speed breakers, radars and police patrols will not help in reducing the death of innocents, unless rash drivers start thinking about others' safety.
From Mr Venkat S.
Dubai
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Parents' responsibility
The school has fulfilled its responsibility by sending out the monthly warnings and notices. How much can a school do when there are so many children to keep an eye on? It's impossible, especially since half the time the children are running around! Parents have to be responsible for their own children. Granted, if something happened when the child was in school it would be a different issue altogether.
From Ms Aarti Saundalkar
Dubai
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Drive carefully
It's very sad to read this Gulf News report. The children are the innocent victims of other people's mistakes. It's the responsibility of the parents or guardians to ensure that children enter the school premises safely and they should not be dropped on the opposite side of the road. It's also the motorists' responsibility to drive carefully in areas where schools are located.
From Ms Anuradha
Dubai
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No respect for signs
The UAE is the only place in the world where I have seen school buses fitted with the stop sign, but not being respected for it. It is a similar case with the speed limits at school intersections. I have seen motorists overtaking and honking at school buses which have stopped to drop or pick up children.
From Mr Kroner Derek
Virginia, US

Warning sign
The recent incident was very unfortunate. My advice would be to have speed breakers on both sides of the road and of course to have signboards a few metres before the school that would warn motorists that there's a school ahead.
From Mr Philip Kuruvilla
Abu Dhabi
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