Council issues plea to motorists after incidents with school traffic wardens

Fingal County Council has issued a plea to motorists to slow down in the vicinity of schools after two incidents involving school traffic wardens in the first week since schools reopened after the summer break.

On Wednesday, a school traffic warden was verbally abused by an irate motorist when asked the move their car which had been parked illegally in the vicinity of a school crossing. The car’s wing mirror then struck the warden as it was being driven off. The Gardai were informed of the incident and had a visible presence at the school on Thursday.

On Thursday morning, a car drove through a school crossing in Swords, seconds after a group of children had crossed the road, and narrowly missed hitting the school traffic warden who was in the process of returning to the pavement. This incident has also been reported to the Gardai.

Niamh Russell, Road Safety Promotions Officer with Fingal County Council, said: “We are appealing to motorists to slow down in the vicinity of schools and to obey the instructions of our school traffic wardens. The wardens are fulfilling an important role in ensuring that children can cross the roads safely. The two incidents this week are extremely worrying and we urge motorists to start obeying the rules of the road, otherwise we could end up dealing with even more serious incidents.”