Pennypack Elementary School Students Lead AAA Safety Patrol

The is ready to start the school year safely, thanks to help from its students in the AAA School Safety Patrol.

Two elementary school members of the patrol – brother and sister Kyle and Paige Mullen of  - recently met with John Long, the Greater Philadelphia safety services manager for the Mid-Atlantic Foundation for Safety and Education, at Hatboro Borough Hall. They were joined by Hatboro Mayor Norm Hawkes, Hatboro Borough Manager Steve Plaugher and Hatboro Police Sgt. James Petrik. 

"The program, like the one at Pennypack Elementary, equips patrollers with the skills and resources needed to ensure children commute to and from school safely,” Long said in a press release. 

Since 1920, the AAA School Safety Patrol, which annually safeguards the lives of millions of young boys and girls, has become almost as recognizable to motorists as the stop sign. The presence of a AAA School Safety Patrol member wearing the familiar Sam Browne belt, which circles the waist and crosses over the shoulder, is a nationally accepted traffic indicator alerting motorists to drive carefully, for school children are in the area.

Historically, the AAA School Safety Patrol is one of AAA's oldest programs. Now more than 585,000 children throughout the country participate in the program. Over 93,000 patrols alone are in the AAA Mid-Atlantic territory.

Many famous Americans have held the position of AAA School Safety Patrol, including former U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, five current and former Supreme Court Justices, five Olympic gold medalists and 21 astronauts.

Hatboro-Horsham is also one of about 200 school districts and police departments in the five-county Philadelphia region taking part in AAA’s School’s Open – Drive Carefully campaign, which is aimed at helping to reduce the number of school-related pedestrian injuries and fatalities. In addition to slowing down, AAA offers the following advice for motorists to keep children safe as they navigate their way through school zones.

• Ditch distractions. Research shows that taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds doubles your chances of crashing.
• Stay alert. Don’t rush into and out of driveways. Expect pedestrians on the sidewalk, especially around schools and in neighborhoods.
• Stop at stop signs. It sounds obvious, but research shows that more than one-third of drivers roll through stop signs in school zones or neighborhoods.
• Watch for bikes. Children on bicycles are often unpredictable; expect the unexpected.
• Brake for buses. It may be tempting to drive around a stopped school bus, but not only is it dangerous, it’s against the law. 
• Plan ahead. Leave early for your destination and build in extra time for congestion. If possible, modify your route to avoid school zones.
• Look for AAA School Safety Patrollers. With more than 600,000 AAA School Safety Patrollers at 31,000 schools across the country, they’re a sure sign you’re approaching a school zone.