All students who attend North Garland have heard about it. Students who drive down Buckingham have seen it. Daily announcements from the administration have warned us that it is against the law, but no one seems to listen. Jaywalking across busy streets has been a prevalent and dangerous predicament at the school for a long while, and it is time that students and the community work together to actually fix the problem.

Once the final bell rings at the end of the school day, those driving are obviously wanting to get home or to work. Often these drivers find themselves having to slam on their breaks because a student from our school decides to waltz across the street in front of traffic, possibly to catch a bus or going home. While this may be more convenient, it is tremendously safer to both pedestrian and drivers for students to cross at the designated crosswalks at Sam Houston and Shiloh.

Several students from the school choose to ride a DART bus home or to work. There are bus stops all along Buckingham Road, one almost directly in front of the school. While it is understandable that walking directly across the street is guaranteed to get you to your destination quicker, the consequences could end up not being worth it. Every year at least one student is hit by a car while crossing the street illegally, usually before school in the dark. Incidents such as these have all been named accidents, but drivers have noticed that some students walk in front of cars and stop traffic on purpose, reveling in the fact that they are causing trouble. Recent news reports have claimed that road rage in the DFW area is becoming more frequent and is a lower priority for the police force. It would be a tragedy if an immature student walked in front of the wrong car, because according to law, if a jaywalking pedestrian is hit, it is not the driver’s fault--it is the pedestrian’s.

Parents also contribute to the jaywalking problem by dropping their children off in the middle of the street. This is not only dangerous to students, but to all other drivers on the road.

Second period announcements have been telling the student body that tickets will be issued by the police if they are caught jaywalking. So far, however, this threat has not been carried out. The Garland Police need to actually begin issuing these tickets. Until they actually take action, the violations will continue.

Garland High School was smart to put a crosswalk directly in the middle of the road in front of their school. Doing so allows students to cross the street in the middle of the road instead of having to walk to either ends of the street. By placing a crosswalk in the middle of the road, the school has granted permission for students to get to the other side of the road without hazards. Those driving will then have to let the students pass as a part of the law.

It could be argued that building an entirely new crosswalk would be a waste of funds, as there are already two on Buckingham Road. On the contrary, it seems that the existing crosswalks are a complete waste of money, as hardly anyone uses them.

If the Garland Police and GISD want the student body to be safe, they must either enforce the rules and issue tickets to those who are breaking the law, or they must come up with a better solution to make the streets safer.