CRESTVIEW — The recent change to Daylight Saving Times means thousands of Okaloosa County School children are waiting at bus stops, walking, or bicycling to school in early-morning darkness or near darkness. But there's a way to help keep these students safe, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office.
"Safety reflectors can help dramatically drop the risk of students being injured or killed," the OCSO states in a news release. "Wearing reflective material helps make you much more visible to street traffic."
Studies have shown that a child wearing a reflector — attached to clothes, shoes, bikes, backpacks, skateboards and any other item — will be spotted by a driver from 500 feet away, versus from 55 feet away if the child is wearing dark clothing with no reflector.
The U.S. Department of Transportation says reflectors have been identified as having the highest overall success rate as a means of reducing school children accidents during darkness.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SAFETY FIRST: Okaloosa students encouraged to wear reflectors