By Stephen Smoot
Sometimes people simply not paying attention as they go through a busy or hectic day can lead to tragedies. Getting the attention of drivers and helping pedestrians, especially children, traverse the town more safely has been a priority of the Town of Moorefield government and Council and also Police Chief Stephen Riggleman.
Through education and enforcement, the Moorefield Police Department has endeavored to make sure the public practices the same priority. “Social media helping us to get the word out there really helps in making people more aware.”
Two main issues lay in the speed of traffic on Maple Avenue and also vehicle drivers exceeding school speed limit zones and ignoring safety lights on school buses.
Chief Riggleman explained that concerns on Maple Avenue reached the point of action with children walking home after school, many of them just as tired and distracted as drivers after the end of the school day. The Town of Moorefield reduced the speed limits on Maple Avenue, Raines Street, and South Elm Street due to heavy use by elementary and high school children as they walk home from school.
A social media post by the Moorefield Police Department let residents know that “patrols will be increased in these areas for safety purposes.”
Moorefield Police also have paid more special attention to the stretch of roadway between Moorefield Elementary and Moorefield High schools. The presence of two schools means twice the foot traffic and twice the potential for a child to get injured if drivers do not obey the flashing signs on Main Street.
Riggleman noted that over time, traffic has increased on Main Street as well.
He added that “students are crossing between those two schools all the time during the school day,” then emphasized that many crossings happen outside of the times when the flashing lights lower the limit further. Of the potential for student foot traffic at any time, “People really need to be aware of that.”
Although some have proposed a permanent lowered speed limit on Main Street between the schools, “that would cause a bottleneck in town if you do that.”
“After we stopped one or two cars, it helped to do the job of slowing people down,” Riggleman noted.
Also significant is the enforcement of traffic laws requiring motorists to stop for school buses when lights are flashing. A viral video seen by millions nationwide last year showed a Kanawha County driver whose effort to sidestep a stopped school bus nearly killed a young girl disembarking from the bus.
Many law enforcement agencies across West Virginia saw that as a wake-up call to increase enforcement and Moorefield was no different. Riggleman shared that all school bus cameras in Hardy County have cameras positioned to snap an image of the license plates of vehicles violating school bus safety laws.
“We take all reports and complaints from the school bus drivers and we follow every single one of them up,” explained Riggleman, who then said “if you do it in Moorefield, you will get a complaint.” He went on to say that “I expect that Hardy County Sheriff’s deputies and West Virginia State Police do the same in other parts of the county.”
Riggleman then returned to the theme that most area drivers do not intentionally try to break the law or make children less safe as they exit a bus or walk down the sidewalk. “People are so distracted,” he shared, “it’s not that they don’t know the rules of the road. They just aren’t paying attention.”
Additionally, he said that police have seen that “it’s not just one group of drivers. Young drivers, old drivers, all demographics, all ages” have violated these laws.
Overall, Riggleman expressed that the purpose of these actions lay in enhancing safety and asked drivers “please be aware. If you see flashing lights on a bus or in a school zone, please stop for them.”
