PORT JERVIS – The Port Jervis City Police Department is urging parents to teach their children some simple safety tips before they head back to school. On Thursday, September 2, hundreds of children will be walking to and from school and school bus stops, many for the first time. Everyone who drives has a responsibility to be especially careful during this busy time of the year for our young students, police said.
Hundreds of children are killed each year in collisions with motor vehicles and thousands more are severely injured. Children tend to be at greater risk during the back-to-school period because they tend to be thinking more about seeing old friends and new teachers than watching for cars and trucks. In addition, many children are nervous and are attending school for the first time. To help protect children, parents and adults are urged to educate our students with the following pedestrian safety tips provided by the AAA of New York:
- Look all ways before crossing the street.
- Cross only at corners and crosswalks.
- Obey police officers, school crossing guards, and traffic signals. The city’s dedicated staff of School Crossing Guards are located each morning (8 a.m. – 9 a.m.) and afternoon (3 p.m. – 4 p.m.) at the intersections of Culvert Street and Kingston Avenue, Hamilton Street/Kingston Avenue and Kingston Avenue/East Main Street. In addition, a school crossing guard is located at the Port Jervis Middle School from 7 a.m. – 7:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. -2:30 p.m.
- Watch for turning cars.
- Be especially alert in bad weather.
- Do not run or play near traffic.
Motorists:
- Please drive with caution and obey school speed limits.
- Don’t be distracted- Keep your eyes on the road and stay off your electronic devices while driving. Don’t text and drive.
- Please yield the right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks.
Port Jervis City Police officers will be deployed throughout the next several weeks to strictly enforce vehicle and traffic safety laws pertaining to speeding in school zones, distracted driving, yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks, and insuring that motor vehicles are stopping for school buses when loading and discharging children. Reduced speed limit school zones are located on East Main Street near the Port Jervis Middle School, Hamilton Street near the Port Jervis High School, Kingston Avenue near the entrance to the Anna S. Kuhl Elementary School complex.
Patrols are financed through grant money provided by the New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee’s Selective Traffic Enforcement Program Police Traffic Services Grant designed to improve pedestrian and motorist safety and reduce traffic-related accidents.
