Caution: School zone ahead

Monday, Aug. 25, 2008 | 2:07 a.m.

A worrisome point was proved last week by Metro Police and school crossing guards.

They had chosen a neighborhood southeast of the intersection of Nellis and Charleston boulevards to set up a highly visible presence in a school zone near Mendoza Elementary.

As described by Las Vegas Sun reporter Emily Richmond, there were three motorcycle officers, a patrol officer in a cruiser, two crossing guards and bright flashing school zone lights above an intersection’s lanes.

Eight drivers were pulled over and issued citations within the first 20 minutes after this seemingly impossible-to-miss array had been formed. One inattentive driver had been talking on a cell phone. When she slowed to pull over at an officer’s command, a driver behind her switched lanes and sped past, only to be stopped by another officer.

Today tens of thousands of children will be out walking as Clark County schools open for the fall semester.

We know drivers on their way to work or running errands didn’t get up in the morning intending to injure or kill a child. But that is what they risk doing if they do not begin being much more alert now that school is back in session.

Fines are at least double for drivers caught ignoring school zone traffic rules. That will give many drivers the incentive to slow down or stop. But all drivers should be overly cautious in school zones for a much longer-lasting reason — hitting a child could result in a tragedy that would haunt their consciences for the rest of their lives, and cause endless grief for the child’s family.

Parents, too, have a role to play in safety. They should talk to their children about obeying pedestrian rules. No riding their bikes through crosswalks, for example, and no jaywalking.

Let us all do our part in keeping children safe. “Child killed while walking to school” is the headline we never want to have to write.