Opinion: Child accidents should raise safety awareness

Having spent many years in the classroom, the mere thought of students bringing guns into school, much less classrooms, is abhorrent to me. The thought of students actually shooting other students and teachers is so far outside the realm of my understanding that I have no word beyond abhorrent to portray my feelings.

In response to this outbreak, groups throughout the nation are meeting to try to understand what might motivate youngsters to do the unthinkable. It is expected that knowing why students do such things might suggest how to put a stop to them.

Anything that threatens the lives of children must be stopped.

It may be that incidents where children are injured while walking to or from school may not ignite the screaming national headlines as do school shootings. In their own way, these accidents are just as tragic. Children should be safe inside and outside the schools.

The recent incident where two children were hit by a car at the Grand and National intersection in Springfield was startling. At this writing, the more seriously injured child remains in the hospital, and the other child has been released from the hospital.

This intersection is a busy corner at the Missouri State University campus, with more than ordinary foot traffic crossing both streets; drivers need to be especially alert for pedestrians. Vulnerable elementary school children added to the mix and raise the risk factor even higher.

Whenever an accident occurs involving cars and children, as with the school shootings, the causes need to be found to try to prevent it from happening again. The safety of children must be the constant factor.

It is proper to debate issues such as whether parents should be responsible for getting kids to school or if school buses or crossing guards should be available to children with no choice but to walk through busy traffic.

Solutions must be found to make certain that children aren’t turned loose to make it on their own across intersections that most adults would approach with caution.

For every crowded intersection where children depend on green lights to cross, there are other serious obstacles for children crossing streets.

Crosswalks near schools are equally dangerous. It is true that a lot of drivers pay no attention to crosswalks be they near schools or elsewhere.

I once asked in a column what you call people who assume traffic will stop for pedestrians in crosswalks? The answer: “causalties.”

Adults and kids are equally unsafe in crosswalks. However, adults are more likely than kids to leap out of the way of a car in a crosswalk. I know I have had to bail out of well-marked crosswalks because of drivers seemingly unaware of where they were.

The worst crosswalk incident in my memory was near an elementary school at a clearly marked school crosswalk. I was following a car in a school zone. Two little girls were about to enter a marked school crosswalk in the middle of the block. I could see the scary scenario unfolding as if in slow motion. The girls were two steps into the crosswalk when the car in front of me zoomed through, missing the girls by a matter of inches. Needless to say, they were reluctant to get back into the crosswalk. I breathed a big sigh of relief when they ran in front of my idle car toward the school building.

Truth be told, dramas like this are probably played out more often than we would like to think about. I encourage drivers to watch out in those crosswalks. Children might be in one.

Heck, I might be in one.

Joe McAdoo is former chairman of the communication department at Drury University.