With the school year coming to a fresh start, it also means a new group of student drivers making their ways to school. In the past few months at Gibson Southern, there has been an increased speeding issue when it comes to the main road that most student drivers and staff take to get to Gibson Southern: Coal Mine Road.
“I received numerous reports from community members who live on Coal Mine Road, raising concerns of students speeding and passing on their road,” said Gibson Southern High School Resource Officer Dan Lienemann. “Please understand this is not the first year we received concerns; last year was the most I had received since being with Gibson Southern High School. I wanted to make sure we addressed this issue at the start of the school year. Coal Mine Road, Monday through Friday, is traveled by some of the least experienced drivers in the county. Couple that with the teenage brain that is not fully developed yet, so their decision-making skills are not where they will be in a few more years.”
The community is not asking for law enforcement on the road to punish students but rather to make sure that every student, parent and staff member makes it home safely. Many adults have spoken out about their concerns.
“Our students are at an age where they feel nothing bad will happen to them,” said Gibson Southern High School art teacher Laura Russell. “Cell phones and distractions can cause students, as well as teachers and parents, to look away for a few seconds, and accidents happen. At a higher rate of speed, this is more likely.”
While this road is long and straight, speeding not only affects high school students but also Fort Branch Community School. Fort Branch releases shortly after Gibson Southern, packing that road with kids as young as kindergarten, up to adults.
“Not only are you putting yourself in danger, you are also putting all the other parents and kids driving as well,” freshman Sadie Hight said.
Students may often seem reckless when it comes to driving, but for most, speeding is not for the thrill. Often, students have other things to attend after school.
“A lot of people have work right after school,” junior Autumn Helm said. “So, they are wanting to get there as fast as they can.”
While it upsets some drivers that there is an increased number of officers patrolling Coal Mine Road, it does substantially decrease the speeding issue around Gibson Southern. The staff especially believes it is good to continue having officers patrol the area to keep kids, students and parents safe when school is released.
“It keeps drivers safe,” English teacher Jennifer Davis said. “People forget they are in two school zones when they get closer to town, and I’ve witnessed multiple people during school hours and pick-up/drop-off times drive too fast and pass on a double yellow line. People will get hurt if this continues.”
Lienemann and other cops have continued to patrol the road and so far, this year, have conducted just under 30 stops, with only four of them being adults. They will continue patrolling Coal Mine Road for the foreseeable future.
However, there are many people who feel as though the situation has not been completely dealt with and believe there are other ways the speeding issue could be handled.
“Take away driving to school privileges for students who are pulled over,” English teacher Beth Elpers said. “It does not have to be for the entire school year. Perhaps suspend their privileges for two weeks. However, if they reoffend, they lose it for the remainder of the semester. If it happens again, they lose it for the remainder of the year or possibly lose their license.”
Threatening license removal would definitely be an eye-opener for many student drivers, although students have an alternative. Some drivers do not see speeding as an issue of the driver but as an issue of the low speed limit.
“Find a good midpoint,” junior Cooper Wahl said. “Make the limit 50 instead of 40 because then the kids can still get to school and home quickly but also stay safe.”
There are endless ways the community could address speeding, but there is no doubt that the majority of the students at Gibson Southern do drive slowly and are cautious on the roads. Despite the debate on whether or not Gibson County should have cops on Coal Mine Road, when it was made known that there were going to be cops patrolling, students became more aware of their speeds on that road.
“I can say that most students do drive safely,” Lienemann said. “As you all know, there are a few that feel the need to be a little reckless, especially if their friends are around. I have not had many complaints after I made the announcements to inform students of the extra patrols on Coal Mine Road.”
