ROAD SAFETY

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 22, 26 July 1945, Page 5

ROAD SAFETY

SCHOOL PATROLS

ENTHUSIASTIC LEADERS

The school safety, patx'ol system, already well established in Hutt Valley schools, and getting under way in city schools, will make a great contribution to road safety, for it teaches the youngsters while they are young, and what they learn then should stay with them. It should, too, have a worthwhile effect upon that minority of motorists who are willing to chase adult pedestrians from crossings, but must hesitate to hoot at school children who are playing their part towards street safety under their own school leadei'S.

The idea of the schools themselves providing patrols at crossings nearby is quite an old one: the Berhampore School, for instance, had patrols long ago, but they had no real standing. Now the patrols have regulations at the back .of them, and through the pooling of instructional efforts of the Transport Department, the City Traffic Office, and the Automobile Association, all school patrols will operate'in the same fashion, and all the cWildren chosen as patrols—and the competition for the honour is more than keen— will wear distinctive uniforms while on morning, lunch hour, and afternoon duty. The uniform is not elaborate, but it marks the leaders, with their glengarry caps, belts, and, when they are available, white coats. They will open and close the crossings with the same safety-first stop sign. They are instructed not to halt car traffic*so much as to wait for a lull in traffic to let the children across, but if there is a steady stream they do halt traffic.

COMPLETE RIGHT OF WAY.

Motorists should note a particular difference in practice at school patrolled crossings from the practice at standard pedestrian crossings. On standard crossings the pedestrian has the right of way on his half of the street width. On school patrolled crossings the children have the right of way over the, full width of the street, and traffic must stop on both the up and down lanes.

The patrols nave no authority to endeavour to halt a driver who does ignore the stop sign; they are told that in .that event they must withdraw the sign and stop the children from crossing. The traffic authorities will look after the driver who ignores the stop sign, if they catch him. But it will be a poor-spirited driver who will fail to obey the children's stop sign, shown for the safety of youngsters who have a special right to expect consideration from adult car drivers.

It is expected, too, that adults who may be using the crossings when children are moving. across them will observe the same rules, for two good' reasons: first, that if they do not they will cast a slur upon the. enthusiastic < patrol leaders and 50 undermine the whole plan; and, next, for their own safety. • The photograph taken today was taken at the Newtown School. There 24 patrol leaders have been trained, 12 seniors and 12 juniors; they take their turns from day to day. Each receives a badge as his personal pro-; perty, and, by way of an extra, there ; is a cup of cocoa on cold mornings after crossing duty.