February is the Month to Show Some Love to Crossing Guards

Every morning, they throw on a brightly-colored vest, grab their whistle and flashy red stop sign, and hit crosswalks across Orange County to help thousands of kids cross the street.

Throughout the month of February, counties and cities across the country will celebrate local crossing guards. Seminole County did earlier this month when the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office Crossing Guard Program was named the 2015 School Crossing Guard Program of the Year by FDOT.

So take a moment to honor our guardians of safe school passage. Our children’s lives are in their hands.

SLOW DOWN. Don’t forget to obey the lowered speed limits in school zones.

And when you or your school children are walking, our crossing guards want you to remember to:

• Cross at marked crosswalks
• Always look both ways and over your shoulders before crossing the street to ensure cars have stopped
• Never step off curve until you have made eye contact with drivers and ensure they are stopped
• Be aware of distracted drivers
• Never get distracted with iPods, cell phones, etc. while crossing the street
• When crossing at locations where there are school crossing guards, please follow their instructions before crossing
• Always use pedestrian signals when available
• Never cross mid-block unless the road is clearly marked with a crosswalk and signage