A study for the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) has found an alarming number of near misses as children walk to school. The report found that one in 84 crossings located near schools are sites of near misses. That works out to nearly five a day across 11 cities examined. Crossing guard Vern Jarvis of London, Ont. is not surprised by the findings. He has been protecting kids on their way to school for seven years. “They love to run, and they don’t make good decisions,” he said moments after finishing his shift at a busy suburban crossing. Jarvis knows firsthand how dangerous his job can be for kids, parents and crossing guards. Just last year, he was forced to take extraordinary measures to stop a moving vehicle. “I ended up on the hood of his car trying to stop him because he wasn’t stopping, and I was banging on the hood of his car.” Jarvis is fortunate. Last week, a crossing guard, a mother and two children were struck near Toronto. The incident occurred just days before CAA released its report. “It is not at all surprising,” repeated parent Nerissa Albert, who witnessed close calls. “We do have near misses. We have actually almost had near misses at this exact stop when the crossing guard has not been here. This continues to be an issue.” A point made when our cameras visited another intersection only a few blocks away, where Catherine Dockstadar recounted another close call. “I’m trying to cross this kid and the car just kept climbing, you know, closer to me, so I have to literally shield myself between the child and the car.” The endless stories have Albert calling out some drivers. “A lot of people don’t stop at these school stop signs, or any kind of stop signs.” The study also found that design can make a difference. Crossings with signals, stop signs or roundabouts had 20 times fewer near misses. Those we spoke with agreed design changes may help, but they also suggested or supported placing more than one crossing guard at major intersections. “That should work better, because it gets like it literally gets both sides, especially on a really busy street,” said Dockstadar. But more crossing guards can’t stop a hurried, distracted, or dangerous driver.
