Published on Saturday, August 6, 2005
in the Lake City Reporter

School is in; think safety first

Monday morning many local teachers, children and their parents will get out of bed in anticipation of beginning the 2005-06 school year on a positive note.

They won't be alone.

To reduce the chance of accidents, area law enforcement agencies are also planning to head to the schools for the first days of school to make sure children can get to schools safely and without incident.

Lt. Mike Burroughs, Florida Highway Patrol Troop B public affairs officer, said FHP troopers will monitor school zones for the first week of school.

"The reason we're doing this is because we want people to become accustomed, once again, to the presence of the school zone," he said. "We know by them looking at blue lights and a marked patrol car, that will increase our visibility which will make them be aware of the school zones. Our goal is to take a proactive approach so that no child is injured or hurt and that there are no close calls."

In addition to the FHP and their patrol efforts, the Lake City Police Department and the Columbia County Sheriff's Office will have extra officers and deputies on duty to make sure all school zones are covered.

"The Lake City Police Department considers the safety of our children, in and around the schools, as a very important issue," said Lake City Police Department Capt. Gary Laxton.

"We will have our normal amount of school crossing guards at our normal positions we've had for years. We will have extra officers patrolling these school zones. We will be there mainly to call people's attention to school is back in session, and let's pay attention. However, these officers will take enforcement actions if needed."

Columbia County Sheriff Bill Gootee said the sheriff's office will also actively monitor school zones when the children return to school.

"We will actively be in the school zones in the area and around the schools to make the public aware of the children's return to school," he said. "We will be out in force that first week, and we'll continue thereafter monitoring activity in the school zones."

Local elementary schools start classes at 7:50 a.m., and secondary schools start at 9 a.m., with elementary school dismissal usually beginning about 2:10 p.m. and secondary school dismissal usually about 3:20 p.m.

Burroughs said for the past two-three years, several public service agencies have monitored the school zones, but this year that will only be done by the FHP, LCPD and Columbia County Sheriff's Office.

He said officers traditionally have seen a combination of violations by both pedestrians and motorists when the school year begins.

"One of the main reasons that we are out there is because there are just as many school children, pedestrian violations as there as moving violations," he said. "This is the first day of school for some children and the first year of school for others; and for some of these children, it's a very traumatic experience."

Many motorists have been traveling through the school zones at regular speeds without slowing for the past two months and Burroughs said that, mixed with children being half awake or excited about attending school and not paying attention as they cross streets, increases the potential for a deadly crash.

Burroughs said parents who allow their children to ride bicycles to school should be advised that they need to wear all of their safety gear, including helmets. He said children should also allow for more time when crossing the streets because of the additional weight from backpacks filled with books and school supplies.

"We still recommend flags on the back of the bicycles so that if they are ever in a blind spot at an intersection, motorists can still see them," he said.

School buses and motorists who are speeding present an additional safety issue at the beginning of the school year.

The Columbia School District has 107 buses and 80 of those are used nearly daily to run routes - many running elementary school and high school routes. School bus routes normally start 6:30-6:45 a.m. each day, and most children are at the schools by 9 a.m.

"One of the deadliest issues that we are seeing with school buses is that the majority of children are seriously injured or in some cases killed while loading or unloading from school buses," Burroughs said, suggesting motorists allow themselves additional time to get to their destinations.

For children who walk to school, Burroughs said the FHP suggests that parents walk the same path to school in order to make sure it is a safe route.

"Take some time that first day of school and walk with your child or ride the same path; not only does it create a great bond between you and your children, it lets them know you care, and lets you check for any safety factors involved in making it dangerous for them to walk to or from school," he said.