Crossing-guard Training Improves Children's Safety, UF Study Shows

January 4, 2000

GAINESVILLE — Formal crossing-guard training makes walking to and from school safer for children by instilling competence and dedication in guards and their trainers, according to a new University of Florida study.

“The ultimate bottom line is, Are children getting to school more safely?’ and we think they are,” said Richard Schneider, a professor in UF’s department of urban and regional planning. “The journey to and from school is safer because of this for children that walk.”

Florida leads the nation in bicycle and pedestrian fatalities relative to population. In 1998, 531 pedestrians and 98 bicyclists were killed, and thousands of other pedestrians and bicyclists were injured, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.

One in six Florida children walk or bicycle to school, according to a 1992 UF study. In an effort to improve the safety of those children, Florida crossing-guard trainers in counties with populations greater than 75,000 must undergo a two-day training program.

The program, administered by the DOT, is designed to provide uniform instruction that improves guards’ effectiveness. Hundreds of trainers have participated since the program was launched in 1992. The UF research was funded by the DOT in order the provide the first formal evaluation of the training program.

The program was developed as a result of the Ramon Turnquest School Crossing Guard Act. Turnquest, 7, was killed in 1991 trying to cross a street on his way to school in Hallandale. The driver of a truck ran a traffic light after a school crossing guard motioned for the boy to cross the street.

After interviewing and observing trainers and guards, the researchers found that trainers who complete the program are more professional and confident. “They have a sense of pride,” Schneider said. “There’s a sense of identity and camaraderie.”

The researchers found that because the trainers take their jobs more seriously, so do the guards they train. Many trainers, most former guards, did not have a clear understanding of their purpose or how to be effective before completing the formal training.

Trainers reported that ” Before we did the training program, we had no idea what we were doing,’” said Ruth Steiner, an assistant professor in urban and regional planning. Some guards were just sent out and told to “cross the kids,” she said.

The eight-hour training program also helps eliminate the chaos that can result when large groups of children are together by demonstrating proper crossing-guard techniques, Steiner said.

Florida is the only state with a mandatory statewide crossing-guard training program. The researchers interviewed and observed trainers and guards in 15 counties, and surveyed trainers from throughout the state.

The high-quality instruction makes the program a success, the researchers said. The curriculum is based on a teaching manual, audiovisual materials and field exercises.

Steiner said the program reminds participants they are working with children.

“Children don’t look at traffic the way we (adults) do,” she said. “They lack well-developed peripheral vision. They assume that because they see the car, the driver of the car sees them.”

Guards also must consider that children often do not look before crossing a street. “They are very focused on one activity,” Schneider said. “The classic example is a ball being thrown into the street. The child just runs out to get the ball.”

Randy Bly, a spokesman for the American Automobile Association’s South Headquarters in Tampa, said considering children’s reduced peripheral vision is just one example of what may distinguish a trained guard.

“Obviously a trained person is going to know more than the untrained about the safety implications and traffic hazards, which is going to increase the safety of the children and the school zone,” Bly said.