Public safety can be a complex issue

Public safety can be a complex issue

In one part of today’s Acorn, we learn that the city of Calabasas will do everything it can to discourage parents from driving their kids to school. In another part of The Acorn, we learn that a 13-year-old girl in Thousand Oaks recently escaped from an abductor.

People who take their kids to school don’t do it because it’s fun or convenient. They don’t do it because their children can’t walk or ride bicycles. They don’t do it so mom can show off her new SUV and cell phone.

They drive their children to school because they’re afraid of what almost happened to the young girl in T.O. There’s no reason to believe that the suspect had anything but an unmentionable motive.

Everyone knows that it’s a hassle to take kids to school. The traffic is unbearable. And it’s no wonder that we have road rage; some drivers apparently think that they have "leading roles" in the game of life while the rest of us are only extras. They seem to be oblivious of everyone else, of road conditions and especially of speed limits and traffic laws.

So whatever Calabasas does, good luck.

The best plan, of course, will get kids out of cars, SUVs and minivans, and into buses. That way, parents can be confident that their children are safe. It would also reduce traffic around school campuses.

If the plan works, it could be a model for neighboring cities, the rest of California and the entire United States.

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