Sam Sandler ’24
As many St. Andrew’s community members are aware, two traffic accidents occurred during October involving pedestrians near St. Andrew’s campus. The first accident took place after school while nearby middle school Herbert Hoover was in the middle of their dismissal. According to Associate Head of School, Mr. David Brown, “this incident on Tuckerman Lane involved a Hoover student who was leaving from the tennis court side [of the property].”
He said that there were a number of cars in line on the westbound side of Tuckerman Lane waiting to enter the middle school parking lot.
Mr. Brown said, “They walked in between the cars and stepped into the roadway in the eastbound lane and were hit by a car.” He added that the student was, “not seriously injured, but it was certainly alarming to have a student hit.”
Nearly a week after this initial incident, a second traffic collision took place close to St. Andrew’s. This accident involved a Hoover student riding his bike at the intersection of Victory Lane and Postoak Road, where stop signs are present on all of the lanes entering the intersection.
Mr. Brown said that “the student who was riding his bicycle on the way to Hoover thought the car at one of the stop signs saw him and was not going to go before the student started riding out into the intersection.” He said that “the car had come to a stop, but was then accelerating into the intersection and hit the cyclist.”
Mr. Brown added that “he was also not seriously injured. We feel fortunate about both of these accidents not resulting in worse outcomes, but both of those accidents in close proximity have us in a state of heightened awareness of kids on the sidewalks as we enter and exit off of Postoak Road especially.”
Mr. Brown wants to ensure that members of the St. Andrew’s community are particularly aware of pedestrians crossing this intersection and make sure that future accidents like these are avoided.
While Mr. Brown said that many of the seniors who currently drive on campus are careful of both pedestrians and other vehicles, he said that some are exhibiting poor decisions in vehicles on campus. He said, “Playing around in a car or having someone sit on the hood of your car while you drive it is really dangerous, and this behavior has no place on campus or anywhere else.”
“We should be mindful that cars can do serious damage,” Mr. Brown said.
Mr. Brown said students were surprised that these incidents had happened, and I know that we increased the number of days a week that the police officer is there to ensure safety for the pedestrians crossing our driveway.” He added that Hoover responded by placing orange cones on the backside of the campus around the crosswalk where the first incident happened.
Since both incidents occurred during times of higher traffic congestion, Mr. Brown recognized that these accidents had a higher chance of occurring because of the number of cars and pedestrians present during both accidents.
He said that we have gone years without a pedestrian accident and that the particular backup was not traffic caused by St. Andrews.
He said, “I know our dismissal ties up traffic out front as well, which lasts about 10-15 minutes on an afternoon and we are really aware of that. We try to stagger our dismissals from school so we don’t back up on Postoak Road, or we at least minimize it.”
Mr. Brown said that an analysis was done about the traffic when the parking deck was built.
He said that making this change has solved much of the traffic problem in the afternoon, but that parents of lower school students still arrive earlier than the targeted pickup time, causing traffic to back up.
He said, “We are looking at a software program that would communicate when a vehicle arrives on campus to the division office so we can better execute dismissal since we know that this parent has already arrived on campus.”
While they are still evaluating that system, Mr. Brown said that lower school parents should arrive later than 3:45, meaning they would retrieve their children faster while not causing traffic congestion on campus during the afternoons.
He also added that having a police officer help direct traffic in the afternoon would not assist the situation, as cars struggle with entering campus rather than exiting it, a point that was shown through the traffic analysis conducted a few years ago.
Mr. Brown wants drivers to continue to be careful and to make sure that incidents like these do not occur again. He said he is, “relying on individuals to monitor their driving and to look carefully for pedestrians and bike riders everywhere you go.”
“This is particularly important in the winter months when it is dark after practice,” he said. it may be harder for drivers to see a pedestrian.”
Mr. Brown said that drivers should, “Allow more time to get where you need to be because if you’re not rushing, you will not try and squeak through that light or not stop fully at that stop sign. You are less likely to be aware of pedestrians if you are hurrying or distracted while driving.”
He said that these are definitely some of the basics of being a responsible driver and that putting your phone down while driving is equally important to ensure that pedestrians, other drivers, and yourself are not put at risk.
Mr. Brown asked that students speak to anyone in the school administration if they see something unsafe occurring related to driving on or near campus.
He said, “We would like to know to be able to talk to the student to be able to help correct that behavior.” He added that “statistically, the number of accidents increases with the number of teenagers in a vehicle. Don’t take a bunch of kids in your car since you are a better driver alone than you are with someone else in the car who may distract you or be encouraging some reckless behavior.”
Mr. Brown recognized that friends like to drive together, but that friends should encourage each other “to put their phones down, and to make sure they are always wearing their seatbelts.” He stated, “All of us who drive have an enormous responsibility. Let’s all take it seriously.”