LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Crash data shows that 54 Las Vegas Valley high school students were struck by cars off campus in the 2024-2025 school year, exceeding total numbers for middle and elementary school students.
FOX5 reported that CCSD leaders, cities, the county and law enforcement agencies have formed a working group to identify the “hot spots” for crashes outside schools and suggest improvements.
Erin Breen, the director of UNLV’s Road Equity Alliance Project, has been tracking the data.
The following data breaks down the number of students struck by cars, off campus, in the 2024-2025 school year; the time period extends up to one hour before and one hour after school.
STUDENTS STRUCK BY CARS OUTSIDE SCHOOLS:
- Elementary School: 18 kids (by 16 schools)
- Middle School: 37 kids (by 21 schools)
- High School: 54 kids (by 26 schools)
Breen gives historical context to the data: for years, the highest numbers were among middle school students. Last year, to boost student safety, various jurisdictions added crossing guards outside numerous middle schools.
“The middle school [crash numbers] were so much less when they have always led the way,” Breen said. “What that tells us is that middle school crossing guards are working, and they’re working better even than we anticipated,” she said.
What else can be done to boost safety among high school students? Many high schools are near roads with designated speeds that reach 35 to 45 miles per hour.
“High schoolers– it’s an age that very human mistakes are made… my message always is not so much to the kid, it’s to the drivers: for heaven’s sakes, whether that [school] light’s flashing or not, pay 100% attention and get your foot off the gas,” Breen said.
Around school zones, Breen urges drivers to exercise caution and drive slowly around the following times: 7 to 9 a.m., and 1 to 4 p.m.
Work is being done to educate high school students on pedestrian safety.
“We know to be true is they listen to their peers. You’ll be able to see the fruits of an awful lot of people’s labors, including young kids in the school district that will be educating their peers,” Breen said. The programs will roll out in about two months, she said.
Breen points to other disturbing data: many drivers who strike students are actually parents, themselves.
“Most often, it’s parents of other students who have already dropped off their own child, and they’re not thinking about that safety because their kid’s not there anymore. But every other person’s children deserve the right to get to school safely,” Breen said.
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