A Midwinter PSA About Travel to School and Back

[XLFD]

I read this gripe coming from another website from one of my local friends, and had to agree.  I walk my own girl to school in the morning, and notice that a lot of travelers in the south side of town (primarily down the one-way streets) act just like they are depicted in this narrative. 

I would add for drivers that they should also give wide berth when passing youths and be wary of the road width when a car is coming from the opposite side-- almost all residential roads cannot safely accommodate two vehicles and pedestrians widthwise in the winter.  And I would also add for pedestrians to remember to walk against traffic, and pay attention to the driver-- you may need to bail into a snowbank due to them not seeing you through frosted windshields or weary eyes.  Don't do what this girl is doing:

"Mason County Residents:   I would like to remind everyone as we are traveling in the mornings to work or to take our children to school, that we have a lot of children that are walking the roads to get to and from school. Due to budget cuts there are no crossing guards, therefore it is OUR responsibility as adults to drive EXTRA careful and be EXTRA watchful of children, especially at intersections.

Also be mindful of areas that do not have sidewalks, where children have to walk on the side of the road. I witnessed TWO near accidents this morning on the way to the school, both of which would have not been so close if parents had been driving a little slower.

I saw one little boy try to run across an intersection and the car approaching was going way too fast. As they tried to stop they started sliding toward the little boy, luckily he saw that was able to run out of the way in time.

The second near-mommy-heart-attack happened when I saw child slip and fall while walking on the side of the road (no sidewalk for them to be on) and yet again the on coming car was going too fast and almost didn't stop in time for that child to get up and get out of the way. I encourage you to leave a few minutes earlier, drive a little slower, and be more watchful of the children.

I also encourage our schools and parents of walkers to take a little time to go over winter walking safety, reminding the children that the roads a slippery and it is more difficult for vehicles to stop. They need to stop at intersections and make sure the vehicles have stopped completely before they cross in front of them. Let's spread the word and remind each other today to be diligent in our efforts to keep these kids safe this winter."