ST. GEORGE – The St. George City Police Department issued a statement Monday reminding people about crosswalk safety and awareness.
There are 19 total school crosswalks in St. George, according to the statement. Three of the 19 crosswalks do not have crossing guards and their lights begin flashing at 7 a.m., while the other 16 begin flashing at 7:45 a.m. and 8:15 a.m.
The statement also reminds drivers that the speed limits at crosswalks is 20 mph or under. Furthermore, the statement said:
Remember, children don’t always think to use the crosswalks, so go a little extra slowly and pay extra attention in the event that a child were to dart out in front of your vehicle. So much can go wrong in mere seconds and we don’t get “do over’s” in real life, so take that extra time, save your heart the ache of living with a tragedy, and slow down!
The last thing the release urged drivers to do is remember that the crosswalk guards are part time city employees, out there because they want to help protect our children. The release asked drivers to extend them the extra kindness and consideration that our city is known for and be respectful.
On Aug. 13, Hurricane City Police Sgt. Brandon Buell also spoke to the issue of back to school safety.
“It is very important for our kids to get to and from school as safely as they can, he said”
Among tips he offered, Buell emphasized that kids need to stay on sidewalks, or stay as far away from traffic as possible in areas without sidewalks, when walking and riding their bicycles. It is also important for kids to be watchful of cars backing out of driveways, he said.
Buell said school resource officers are encouraged to build relationships with the kids, so if children are facing any problems at school or at home, officers can be in a position to help.
“They are also there to educate,” Buell said. “Our school resource officers teach classes.”
Buell said school resource officers will also enforce traffic laws as people come into the areas around schools. Officers will look at safe routes to and from schools and monitor inside the schools to make sure they are secure from the inside and the outside.
“We encourage our patrol officers to be proactive around our schools – to watch for traffic violations – watching for people who are doing things that may be distracting to them while they are traveling in the school zone,” Buell said.
Buell added that patrol officers have routinely seen people texting and driving in the school zone.
“We also want to make sure we encourage the community to be an extra hand,” he said. “Slow down when you’re coming into the school zone. Be extra cautious about the kids who are out there.”
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Emphasize stop signs, speed limits, children in pedestrian crosswalks and no texting. Some Dixie people seem not to either see or understand these things.
i would like to add that between the hours of about 11 and 12:30 over on main street and 800 S (?) there are lots of kids crossing the street, with no sign and sometimes NOT in the crosswalk. It scares me to drive down that road at that time.
We have kids earlier for choir and running club….People don’t slow down at all!..Please watch and be careful!
Why don’t you brain dead parents try teaching your kids to be responsible and use some common sense. On one street some stupid little kid thinks its funny to run out into the street and play chicken with the cars and laugh about it. I sit on my porch and watch him. I’m hoping he get hit then I can walk up to him and laugh at him and walk away as he lays there crying… NO SYMPATHY FROM ME
I say remove the warnings and eventually the stupid people will cease to be.
Parents, teach your kids that cars own the road and they should look both ways first. If you don’t, and your kid gets smeared, no pity.
But I might donate a dollar to your # fundraiser afterwards…
bobber’s crosswalk safety tip: don’t get hit by a car.
SAFETY TIP #2: If you get hit try and roll out of the road. You don’t want to get hit again!
crosswalk safety tip #4: Avoid wearing clothing that blends in with the road surface.
crosswalk safety tip number 5 wait till you get across the street to light up the crack pipe