Editor, Manteca Bulletin,

Every morning at 7:20 I drop my daughter off at Sierra High School next to a crosswalk (which the school has several of) and watch as she uses that crosswalk to safely get to class. It amazes me that while I intently watch my daughter cross I see most students stepping from between parked cars directly into oncoming traffic, their parents apparently oblivious to the danger.

I also see every morning parents stopping their cars in the middle of the street and dumping their kids out right there causing traffic to back up and creating even more danger.

We have crossing guards at every elementary and middle school and you would think that after 9 years of attending these schools both students and parents would know how to obey traffic and pedestrian laws. I am here to tell you that that is not the case.

These parents who are in such a hurry that they ignore the law and are more concerned with expediency than safety should be cited by police on a daily basis. Students who jaywalk should also receive citations or better yet detention after school. Maybe after paying multiple fines they will learn the rules of the roadway.

And just where are police traffic patrols at 7:15 a.m.? I know where they’re not-near any high school.

It seems to me that this is perfect opportunity for the police to generate revenue for the city and at the same time educate clueless parents and keep teens safe. But it will probably take a fatal incident to get any attention for this problem. Oh that’s right, that’s already happened.

I remember several years ago when our current police chief was a motorcycle cop he and his partner spent an afternoon at Sequoia School warning and maybe even citing some of same type of parents. We need to make that a daily police routine.

M. Lencioni

Manteca