Smart Safety: MN Safe Routes to School and AAA Partner for New Resource

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As Minnesota children prepare to head back to school, two organizations have joined efforts to enhance and encourage safe travel for children. 

Minnesota Safe Routes to School, a program of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and AAA - The Auto Club Group have created new online learning modules focused on helping children get to and from school safely.

The learning modules provide key training for youth safety patrollers and their advisors who help ensure all students stay safe while walking, biking or riding the bus to school.  For the safety patrollers there are five modules: At Your Post; Staying Safe; Crossing Posts; School Bus Stop Posts & Reporting Dangerous Practices; and a Final Course Test.

“Minnesota Safe Routes to School, an effort to encourage more students to safely walk and bicycle to school, uses strategies ranging from building better infrastructure, to ensuring that students, parents and community members know basic pedestrian and bicycle safety skills. We are thrilled to be partnering with AAA to provide a first of its kind online training for aspiring school safety patrollers who will lead by example while ensuring students safely cross the street at key intersections,” said Dave Cowan, Safe Routes to School coordinator.

“AAA - The Auto Club Group is thrilled to build upon the AAA School Safety Patrol Program, a nationally recognized program that began in the early 1920’s,” stated Gail Weinholzer, director of public affairs, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “The AAA School Safety Patrol Program not only assists in getting children to and from school safely, but also helps build leadership skills in our nation’s youth.”

Minnesota Safe Routes to School is an effort to improve walking and bicycling conditions for our youth and encourage more active lifestyles. The Minnesota Department of Transportation along with many other partners across the state are working together to help schools and communities develop Safe Routes to School programs. The purpose of its resource center is to provide SRTS tools, resources and information needed for all partners – including parents, teachers, students, schools, school districts, communities, and others.

AAA School Safety Patrol plays an important role in helping young pedestrians learn and fulfill responsibilities regarding traffic safety. Millions of U.S. boys and girls have honorably served their classmates since the AAA School Safety Patrol program began in the early 1920s, and interest in the program has spread around the world. At least 30 other countries, including New Zealand, the Netherlands, England, Germany and France, have emulated the program. AAA commends school personnel who administer the AAA School Safety Patrol program and law enforcement officials who contribute to its success in local communities.
 
About The Auto Club Group

The Auto Club Group (ACG) is the second largest AAA club in North America. ACG and its affiliates provide membership, insurance, financial services and travel offerings to over 9.4 million members across eleven states and two U.S. territories including Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; most of Illinois and Minnesota; and a portion of Indiana. ACG belongs to the national AAA federation with more than 57.7 million members in the United States and Canada and whose mission includes protecting and advancing freedom of mobility and improving traffic safety. Motorists can map a route, identify gas prices, find discounts, book a hotel, and access AAA roadside assistance with the AAA Mobile app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Learn more at AAA.com/mobile. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com.