School is in session. It has been for several weeks. The weather is exceptionally beautiful for this time of year, giving youngsters more time to walk and ride bikes to and from school.
With the increased kids doing kid things before and after school it is important for every driver to pay attention to signal and markings, also known as traffic control devices.
In Sanborn, there is a defined area of “school district.” It is “The territory contiguous to and including a highway for a distance of two hundred (200) feet in either direction from a school house. After years and herculean effort, Sanborn is home to the HMS Middle School.
“Stop” also has a definition. When required it means “the complete cessation of movement.”
The children of Sanborn and the HMS School District are fortunate to move around in a community that has done its best to support the safety of children while moving through the community. They may be going to or from the swimming pool or school. Perhaps they were playing at the city park. Or ran to the grocery store for Gramma. It doesn’t matter. Kids have as much right to move safely, according to the rules, as anyone else. And some may also support the idea that it is a duty of vehicle operators to do their part to ensure the safety all pedestrians, not just children.
When a yellow light near a marked crosswalk is flashing, slow down way down. If there is any pedestrian in that crosswalk YOU MUST STOP. That’s the law. Anyone in the traffic lane at an intersection has the right of way, but Sanborn has done a magnificent job of marking such intersections for the best in safety.
So please, watch for pedestrians, especially the youngest.