Staying Safe For Back To School In Natrona County [VIDEO]

Ready or not, school in Natrona County starts up on September 5th and officials are urging students and parents alike to start getting in the groove and get back into school-year safety habits. The Natrona County School District states their primary goal is the safety of students and staff, and they've been partnering with the Casper Police Department and other community agencies to create a series of videos to create awareness around the safety issues of this particular time of year.

Here are some of the topics:

Crosswalks: "This is very important," says Detective John Hatcher with the Casper Police Department. "We have near misses weekly on crosswalks, people just don't think about them even though they're clearly marked and so we really want to get it out there."

Walking and biking safety: "We want to remind students too, they're getting excited to get back to school so they're not really always paying attention," says NCSD Public Relations Officer Tanya Southerland, "and so we talk about student safety as well, as you're getting ready to go back to school, making sure you're aware of the crosswalks, walking with a buddy, those kinds of things."

Remember to obey speed limits in school zones:  "We realize it takes a little time. People get out of the habit, school has been out and people don't get in those habits of watching out for school zones and watching around schools for kids," says Hatcher.

Drop off and pick up correctly and safely according to the policies of your school: Hatcher says "A kid can dart out between two cars and especially little kids, even if you're driving 20 m.p.h. school zones it's still really hard to stop a car, and no one wants to have that thing of striking a kid in the street. That is something that you would have to live with the rest of your life."