Local News - August 2003

Student drivers concern officials

Published August 6, 2003

By JEREMY ASHTON, LTN Staff Writer

The pattern of speeding tickets sent to Kay Killian’s office didn’t make sense.

Killian, an assistant district attorney, began noticing a high number of 16- and 17-year-old drivers were being cited for speeding during school hours. The students were commuting to and from the Lincoln County School of Technology.

“Their excuse is always that they didn’t have enough time,” she said.

The School of Technology, a career education school in Lincolnton, draws juniors and seniors from all four of Lincoln County’s high schools.

Students who take classes at the school during second and third period can ride the bus there. All of them, however, have the option of driving their own cars.

“The driving issue is a major worry for me and for our staff and the county office simply because the danger factor is involved,” Principal Max Houser said.

In Houser’s two previous years at the school, no student has been critically injured, but accidents have happened.

As a public safety issue, Killian said she would like to see every student take the bus. As a practical matter, the buses don’t run to the school during first and fourth periods because of scheduling conflicts, Houser said.

Two years ago, the bell schedules at the School of Technology and the high schools were adjusted to create more travel time, but students sometimes find themselves lagging behind — usually after stopping at fast food restaurants.

“I don’t say they’re bad drivers; I just think maybe in their zest to get here and stopping somewhere else, they’re making mistakes,” Houser said.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office has received “dozens of complaints” from motorists about students speeding toward Lincolnton from the county’s extremes, 1st Sgt. Doug Norwood said.

School resource officers have been equipped with radar to help slow students down. Sheriff’s officers heavily patrolled N.C. 73 last year, but some students caught on and instead started taking back roads, which can be more dangerous at high speeds, Norwood said.

Concerns about speeding don’t stop once students reach Lincolnton’s city limits. Police Chief Dean Abernathy said the young drivers get used to traveling fast on the highways, and sometimes don’t think to slow down.

Water, Sycamore and Pine streets have become popular shortcuts for them and will be watched closely this year during school hours. Anyone speeding on those streets can present a danger to themselves and pedestrians, Abernathy said

“We ask them to please slow down and to be safe — a few minutes late is better than being dead or getting a ticket,” Abernathy said.

Houser points out that not every traffic incident involving students is their fault, and every law enforcement agency hasn’t found the commuting students to be a problem.

N.C. Highway Patrol 1st Sgt. Paul Phillips said his officers patrol around the high schools “because that’s protecting our youth.” But student speeders are not being ticketed in numbers disproportionate to other offenders, he said.

Regardless, Houser and school district officials have worked extensively with law enforcement to develop ways to reduce students’ need for speed and to make them conscious of traffic hazards.

Teachers are asked to be a little more lenient enforcing tardy policies at the beginning of the year to give students a chance to adjust to the driving schedule.

Students who want to drive themselves have to get a permission slip signed by their parents.

During the first days of school, Houser and the teachers talk to students about driving safety when going over the school’s handbook. They also greet students in the parking lots as another reminder.

With the school year about to start, Norwood also encourages parents to talk to students about traffic laws before the start of the school.

“We’re going to require them to obey the law for their own safety and the safety of the rest of the motoring public,” he said.

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Staff Writer Jeremy Ashton can be reached at 704-735-3031 or jashton@ltnews.com.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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