Fairfax County Police Address Concerns About School Crossing Guard Duties

With the new school year starting this year, some parents across Fairfax County have asked if there were changes made to crossing guard duties at local schools. Patch asked Fairfax County Police about the matter and here’s what we heard back:

The FCPD has been hearing from concerned parents in certain areas of our County this week about perceived changes in school crossing guard procedures. Please allow us to help clarify the matter. Our primary concern has always been the safe crossing of walking students and our program has not changed. Crossing Guards are not sworn Police Officers and State Code 46.2-834 limits their authority to controlling traffic within marked school crossings and requires them to use a hand held stop sign if they are issued one.

For direction on the exact manner in which they perform their job we look first at the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) which sets design criteria for school crossings and section 7E.05 states:

Adult crossing guards should not direct traffic in the usual law enforcement regulatory sense. In the control of traffic, they should pick opportune times to create a safe gap. At these times, they should stand in the roadway to indicate that pedestrians are about to use or are using the crosswalk, and that all vehicular traffic must stop. Adult crossing guards should use a STOP paddle. The STOP paddle should be the primary hand-signaling device.

http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2003/part7/part7e.htm

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides additional crossing guard standards and describes their duties as:

The primary responsibility of an adult school crossing guard is to help children safely cross the street as they walk or bicycle to and from school.

A well-trained adult school crossing guard can help to accomplish the following goals:

• Discourage children from behaving unsafely near traffic, such as darting into the street without looking or crossing against a traffic signal. A guard can encourage safe behavior by all pedestrians at the school crossing.
• Use existing gaps in traffic to help students cross safely. When the natural traffic flow does not allow enough time for children to safely cross a street, a guard may need to create gaps by stopping traffic temporarily. The guard stops traffic with hand signals or a STOP paddle, then verbally directs children to cross the street. A guard is always the first person in the street and the last person out of the street.
• Alert motorists that pedestrians are in the process of using the school crossing.
• Observe and report any incidents or conditions that present a potential safety hazard to the school children or the guard.

An adult school crossing guard should not direct traffic unless specifically trained as a traffic control officer

http://guide.saferoutesinfo.org/crossing_guard/the_role_of_the_adult_school_crossing_guard.cfm

NHTSA gives further instruction on the actual crossing process:

http://guide.saferoutesinfo.org/crossing_guard/an_unsignalized_crosswalk.cfm

Over the years, several crossing guards have been seriously injured by motorists which necessitated the Police Department conducting inspections to ensure compliance with all applicable laws, policies and guidelines to protect lives. As a result of the inspections, some Crossing Guards were found to be directing traffic outside the scope of the MUTCD and NHTSA guidelines which we follow, so they received extra instruction this summer on their job duties. As an added safety measure, there are uniform changes this year for Crossing Guards in an effort to enhance their visibility; these include a hand held “STOP” sign and brighter reflective clothing.

However, since some roadways near schools may need additional resources, police are looking closely at some intersections near schools where traffic direction is needed due to the large volume of traffic generated during school hours. The police department is reviewing these intersections over the next two weeks for design improvements to aid in the flow of traffic. The Police Department will work closely with Fairfax County Public Schools and the Virginia Department of Transportation for any roadway improvements.

PHOTO of school crossing guard courtesy of Fairfax County