ORLANDO, Fla. – News 6 traffic safety expert Trooper Steve Montiero answers viewer questions and shares tips about the rules of the road, helping Central Florida residents become better drivers by being better educated.
Trooper Steve answered the question, “Does a crossing guard supersede a traffic control device?”
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Crossing guards are trained from local police agencies and when conducting their job, there are a lot of requirements they have to go through and equipment to carry while conducting business.
“When a crossing guard is going to stop or hold traffic, you will notice that they enter the crosswalk when the red light is presented. They do this because all traffic has stopped and it’s much safer for them to come out into the roadway,” he said. “The catch to all this is that a crossing guard can now hold that traffic so that students and pedestrians can safely cross.”
Trooper Steve said a crossing guard can even hold traffic if the light turns green during the initial hold, which in a case like this the crossing guard would supersede the green light though there are times they would not supersede the traffic device.
For example, a time a crossing guard would not be able to supersede the traffic control device would be if they are posted at a residential street where a stop sign is present and traffic is building up at the stop sign. There are no children, no students or other pedestrians present at this time.
“A crossing guard would not have the authority to override that stop sign and direct traffic through that stop sign. Police officers and other first responders like firefighters would have the authority to override the stop sign,” he said. “A crossing guard would not have the authority to do something like this.”