Please be careful out there.

For the sake of your life, and others.

It’s a timely message for young and old.

With school out, more children will be enjoying their summertime vacations and walking along our residential streets and byways.

There will also be young drivers on the road more often than during the school year.

Let’s look out for both, and be mindful of our own behavior behind the wheel.

Bainbridge Island drivers have a well-deserved reputation for treating speed limit signs as advisory suggestions, only to be heeded when the sight of a patrol car comes into view.

Even experienced and dedicated drivers who always follow the rules of the road should practice care in the weeks and months to come. Others who are out and about, enjoying the sunshine while walking along the road or motoring across the island, can be easily distracted by that unfamiliar glowing orb in the sky and creep too close to the path of oncoming vehicles.

Unfortunately, there’s already been a tragic reminder this summer. A 13-year-old Poulsbo teen was hit by a 16-year-old teen driver on a residential street Wednesday and taken to Harrison Hospital.

Our children, our youth, are our most precious gifts from God. Please be careful out there.