Pupils should keep an eye out for safety

SAUGUS – Day-care provider Rebecca Wise-Bono spent all summer helping the children under her supervision have fun, but she also stressed the top rule all kids need to know once they start walking to and from school.”Absolutely stay with an adult – that is the first thing you need to understand,” she said.Wise-Bono spent a few minutes outside Veterans Memorial Elementary School playground on Thursday reviewing street safety rules with kindergartner Ava Caron and Saugus police officers.With school scheduled to start on Sept. 8, the police department is urging drivers to sharpen behind-the-wheel awareness and anticipate children crossing streets once the school year begins. Lt. Ronald Giorgetti said town officers are prepared to ticket drivers who do not stop at a crosswalk or attempt to pass a school bus displaying flashing lights and a stop sign.”The No. 1 hazard is people passing buses,” Giorgetti said.Wise-Bono teaches the children in her charge basic street-crossing rules, including look both ways, hold hands and cross at marked crosswalks. Giorgetti said school crossing guards will reinforce those reminders. Police, he warned, will also reinforcing rules with drivers.”We will be out enforcing crossing violations,” he said.Police Chief Domenic DiMella said the majority of school bus passenger injuries occur when children are boarding or getting off a bus. He reminded parents to teach their children prior to the start of school to memorize their walking route to the bus stop and learn how to cross in front of a stopped bus and wait for the driver’s signal to finish crossing a street.DiMella cited the state Department of Public Health in stating that pedestrian injuries are the second leading cause of unintentional injury or death for children ages 5 to 18. He said most injuries to younger children occur when they run into the street “mid-block.” Students need to learn traffic signals and signs and obey crossing guards.Saugus Officer Stephen Rappa said a local child sustained a leg injury three months ago while crossing Denver Street. Rappa teaches his daughter, Alexandria, 5, crosswalk rules, like walking her bicycle across a street.”The big thing is always be with an adult. We practice it,” Rappa said.Therese Mullen said she also reinforces safe crossing rules with her daughter, Adelina Spinney, 7.”You’ve got to tell kids, ?accidents happen.’ It’s a miracle there aren’t hundreds of them every day,” Mullen said.Giorgetti urged drivers to stay off mobile devices while driving and keep their foot off the accelerator.”If a motorist is preoccupied with the cellphone or texting, it only takes a couple of seconds to cause an accident,” he said.