DRIVERS have been urged to be aware of school crossings following a series of incidents on the Southside.
The number of reported incidents at school crossings in the last term was described as “quite high” by South Dublin County Council officials.
There are 94 permanent school crossings in the council’s area and during the school term, 13 incidents were reported to the Road Safety Officer. These included collisions at crossings, near misses and drivers failing to stop for the warden.
The council’s Road Safety Officer, Declan Keogh, said that although drivers are aware of the rules when approaching a school warden crossing, some drivers still fail to stop, which puts people at risk of being knocked down.
“While the schools and the School Warden Service have finished for the summer holidays, drivers along school routes should notice reduced journey times and less congestion,” Mr Keogh said. “When the schools reopen in late August or September, drivers should bear this in mind and be aware of the extended journey times and the return of traffic congestion around schools and school crossings.”
School wardens in South County Dublin crossed an average of 6,005 students and adults on a daily basis in the school term 2017/2018 which has just ended.
The crossing counts were recorded over a six-week period between March and April last.
During this period, a total of 8,177 primary school students crossed alone while 10,501 students crossed with an adult or guardian. A total of 321 students crossed at a school crossing on a bicycle.
The council report found that the number of students crossing alone at school warden crossings is relatively high and those who are crossing with an adult is even higher again which they say is good, because the higher the number of students and adults walking to school means the number of people driving to school is reduced.
The report also shows that weather condition can dictate whether people walk or drive to school.
During wet conditions, the numbers of students walking to school dropped while the number of vehicles on the ‘school-run’ increased, which can have a negative effect for local traffic and a knock-on effect on ancillary routes.