Comply with MUTCD Rules for School Crossings

Kids are often at the risk of being injured when they are left outside the supervision of their parents. And since schools are places where kids spend most of the time on their own without much supervision, the risk for hurting themselves increases.
The increase in traffic on the roads in recent times has also made kids a potential victim to traffic crashes and fatalities. According to the latest data published by NHTSA, motor vehicle crashes are one of the main causes of death among children aged between 3 and 14 years.

Little children are unaware of the safe road practices and cannot apply numerous traffic rules and regulations in real life scenarios. This problem especially occurs when they have to cross a street during a pick-up and drop-off to school.
Installing School Crossing Signs in school zones becomes vital in such cases. School Crossing Signs safeguard children and control the moving traffic around them so that they can cross the street safely without any harm or injury.

Placement of School Signs
MUTCD maintains that school signs should be positioned where the message is effectively communicated without hampering sight distances or lateral clearance. Highway design, vehicle speed, alignment and roadside development should be considered before placing the sign.

Distance between the edge of the traveled way and the sign should be enough to avoid the sign being struck by a vehicle and to maintain safety of the vehicle itself.
Signs should be at least 1.8 m (6ft) away from the edge of the paved shoulder or 3.7 m (12 ft) away from the edge of the traveled way. However, in urban areas, a minimum distance of 0.6 m (2ft) from the face of the curb should be kept. A clearance of 0.3 m (1ft) should be used where poles are close to the curb or where sidewalk width is limited.

Illumination and Reflectorization of School Crossings
MUTCD mandates that signs used to control traffic around schools should be illuminated or retro-reflectorized.

Sign Color for School Crossing
School Warning Signs are required by MUTCD to have a yellow background with a black legend and border. However, Schools Crossings can have a yellow-green background with a black legend. Yellow-green retro-reflective signs in school zones make the school crossing stand out. However, if such a color is used for signs, it should be consistently used throughout the school zone and not mixed with standard yellow school signs.

Size of a School Crossing
MUTCD furnishes size of a School Crossing Sign on conventional roads. A School Crossing Sign can have a minimum size of 750x750 mm (30x30 inches), a standard size of 900x900 mm (36x36 inches) and a special size of 1200x1200 mm (48x48 inches).

Height of a School Crossing
Section 2A.18 of MUTCD states where pedestrian movements exist (in this case a School Crossing); a minimum distance of 2.1 m (7 ft) from the bottom of the sign should be kept.