School Starts on Staten Island - Drivers Beware
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For the school aged children of Staten Island, summer vacation ended today. And with the Department of Education's recent decision to take away bus service for 7th and 8th graders, we can expect our streets to be more crowded with thousands of children forced to find new ways home. Besides the increase in pedestrian traffic, you can be rest assured that hundreds more cars will be on the streets. As driver's, we need to be aware of our surroundings and to expect these additional school children to be out on our roads at dismissal. In the mornings, the drop-offs will no doubt be congested with more people trying to drop off their children. Much confusion will result and despite the "rules" that come with dropping off our children, you can expect many parents to totally disregard the rules, putting our children in danger. As I have blogged about before, we as driver's and residents, need to change our habits and to obey the rules. They are there for our and our children's safety. Many Staten Island driver's feel that laws and rules don't always apply to them, especially when dropping off or picking up our children.
Despite all the improvements to traffic flow on Staten island, driver behavior is still the leading cause of accidents on Staten Island streets. For instance, the public's steadfast refusal to follow traffic directions and lane markings is incredible, no more so demonstrated than in a typical fast food parking lot. Take for example the parking lot of the McDonald's at Hylan Boulevard and Midland Avenue. The designers placed clearly marked lanes and arrows in the parking lot, directing traffic smoothly to the drive-thru and in and out of the parking lots. Despite the markings, customers still refuse to follow directions, instead preferring to make a u-turn in the parking lot versus following the markings to the drive-thru. Another prime example is the drive-thru at the Dunkin Donuts on Forest Avenue and Broadway. The parking lot has two lanes, one clearly marked "24 Hour Drive-Thru" and being to the right of the entrance. The outside lane has two purposes; the first is to allow cars parked in the lot to be able to exit their parking spots without having to wait for the cars in the drive-thru line to move. Secondly, the right lane makes the turns required to be less severe and easier to pull up to order at the drive-thru. Not surprisingly, most drivers ignore the markings and enter the drive-thru through the left hand land, blocking any cars that attempt to pull out of their spots. Numerous other examples include the Wendy's on Hylan Boulevard by Cromwell Avenue and most banks.
Remember, laws are enacted for our safety. Don't pass a school bus with the red lights on and the stop sign out; A solid white-line on the street means that you are unable to switch lanes; the speed limit on streets if not posted is 30 m.p.h.; no left turn means no left turn. Until we obey these laws, many people will continue to be injured or killed based on driver behavior alone.
