The Ora
nge County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) dropped by Conway Elementary on Oct. 27 to remind motorists to 1) yield to pedestrians in crosswalks and 2) follow crossing guard instructions.
OCSO’s ped safety call to action comes on the heels of a series of incidents in school zones across Orange County where motorists not only failed to yield at a crosswalk – but also when a crossing guard was present operating the crosswalk.
Over the past two months, three students and one crossing guard were hit and injured by a motorist. Two students were injured at Wetherbee Elementary and one at Union Park Middle. The crossing guard was hit by a motorist at a crosswalk near Conway Middle. Some close calls have also been reported as well as a motorist who yelled at a crossing guard for stopping traffic.
A few tips:
To motorists – Be vigilant and alert. Slow down (especially in school zones and crosswalk areas). Yield to pedestrians. Follow crossing guards’ instructions. Be civil.
To people walking especially trick-or-treaters gearing up for Halloween – Be visible. Be alert. Have a safety plan for your walking route. Have a walk buddy or two or three or more.
At the end of the day, we are all peds and must work together to make our streets safer for everyone.
Bike/Walk Central Florida staff represented the Best Foot Forward program supporting OCSO and Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) at the event and handing out iyield4ped stickers. We continue to work with OCSO and OCPS to educate Central Floridians on ped safety and increase driver yield rates.
Check out this news story from Fox 35 about the event and pedestrian safety.
