School crossing guard appeals to drivers to slow down and be careful

FREE FIELD — Carrying two giant orange cones, a safety vest and a bright red stop sign, Darren Bradsby unloads his white truck to check out his gear for the new school year as a school crossing guard in Clearfield.

“The larger the cones, the more often they are seen,” he said.

Bradsby was a school crossing guard for two years at 1000 E. State Street in Clearfield. He became well known in the community with his big white cowboy hat and outgoing personality.

“Some of the kids, the high school and elementary school students, call me the cowboy crossing guard,” he laughs.

This year, Bradsby is moving to a new crossing a few blocks from State Street, but when he thinks back to his time working on State Route 126, one of the city’s largest and busiest roads, he worries about the safety of the students he’s come to know and love.

“I worry five days a week, every day is risky,” he said.

Bradsby and Rogers talk about the dangers of distracted driving and their experiences. (KSL TV)

Bradsby said he has had several close calls at the intersection. Last year, he described how a truck and trailer nearly crushed his legs after he failed to clear an accident at the intersection. He said several children were also nearly hit.

“During my first year away, two gentlemen helped me at different times to prevent children from being hit,” he said. “We both grabbed the children and fell backwards, twice.”

Near misses like Bradsby’s occur in crosswalks across the state during the school year, and Clearfield police are increasingly looking for ways to improve crosswalk safety — both for students and traffic responders.

“School crossing guards are critical to our children getting to and from school safely. They are critical to our organization,” said Clearfield Deputy Police Chief Devin Rogers.

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According to Rogers, drivers at school crossings often make the mistake of not waiting until the crossing guard has completely cleared the zebra crossing. This is required by law.

“If a school crossing guard is at the intersection, wait until the school crossing guard has cleared the entire intersection, his stop sign is down, and he is out of the roadway before proceeding,” Rogers said.

“Many people look at us as if we were just a school crossing guard. No, we are much more than that,” Bradsby added.

With the start of the new school year, Rogers is urging drivers to re-read the road traffic rules, especially new drivers.

“If they would just slow down and leave a little earlier, pay attention to the students, pay attention to the crossing guards and take a little more time,” Rogers said.

Bradsby takes his job as a school crossing guard very seriously and his biggest fear is that a child will be hit by a car on the way to school.

“You get to know them, take care of them and hope they come home to mom and dad,” he said.

He asks drivers to slow down, put away their cell phones and pay attention so that not only the students, but also he, can get home safely.

“I want to go home because I take care of my parents and have children and I want to see them again,” Bradsby said.

Lehi school crossing guard asks drivers to slow down after children are nearly hit