Shaw urged drivers to be more aware of pedestrians. "And she has every reason to be because it is a scary job." "She's seen that happen, me almost getting hit, and so she's a little bit scared," Durfee said. She said her daughter prays daily that her mom won't get hit by a car while on duty. Three of Durfee's children attend Trailside Elementary School. We need to be able to be safe, and the kids need to be safe, and I just know we can do better." "We crossing guards are people, too," Durfee said. Durfee started dressing as a traffic cone to raise awareness for the importance of avoiding distracted driving and speeding in school zones. Whitney Durfee works as a crossing guard outside Trailside Elementary School in Vineyard on Friday. One month later, two children were hospitalized after being hit by a car in the crosswalk by Hawthorne Elementary School, also in Salt Lake City. In December, an 11-year-old girl was struck and killed in the crosswalk by Bonneville Elementary School in Salt Lake City.
Twelve of those deaths, or just more than one-fifth, were children ages zero to 9, said UDOT Senior Communications Manager Mitch Shaw. There were 53 pedestrian deaths in the state in 2022, up from 45 in 2021, according to the Utah Department of Transportation. Pedestrian accidents have also increased across Utah.
"It's fun just to see everyone's reaction and to (remind) them that it's a school zone and that they really need to start paying attention." "It has helped a lot, just to be out there in that (costume) and to show drivers that I'm there … and that there are kids crossing," she said. After several times almost getting hit by a car while on duty in 2022, she started wearing the cone to work with the hope that it would help distracted drivers pay more attention.ĭistracted driving has been on the rise in Utah County, and drowsy driving incidents have increased across the state.ĭurfee said she has "definitely" seen an improvement in safety around Trailside Elementary since donning the costume. The Vineyard mother of seven bought the costume to wear on Halloween in 2021. It's a tactic that's worked for Whitney Durfee, who frequently wears a cone costume for her job as a crossing guard at Trailside Elementary School in Vineyard. Voila! A $30.00 Homemade Traffic Cone Halloween Costume Idea! The great thing is that I only had to cut one hole in the orange fabric so I can still re-use all of it.VINEYARD - If you saw a giant traffic cone waving and smiling at you, you'd probably pay more attention to the road. I also reinforced the connection of the two parts with more safety pins. I tied some shoelaces around the narrow parts of the circle so I could fasten the base to the hula hoop once the black fabric was cut and glued/taped to the base. I had to reinforce the bottom of it with small pieces of wood and sticks so it wouldn’t bend from the weight. I cut and taped the thick poster board pieces I had on hand to form the base around the bottom of the cone. I flipped it inside out and used silver duct tape to tape around the top of the bucket to mimic reflector tape, which, would have been way too expensive for my “budget” costume (I was able to use a 40% off coupon to purchase the tape). I cut a half circle out of the top side of the pail to allow room for my son’s forehead, and, cut a hole in the fabric where his face would show. I safety pinned the sides together from the top of the pail down to the bottom of the hula hoop and left space open for the arms. I had my son place the pail over his head and I draped the fabric over it, inside out, so that the hula hoop bottom hung down evenly. I was able to purchase 3 yards of “safety orange” fleece and 2 yards of black fleece at half price! I fastened the end lengths of the orange fleece to the hula hoop with safety pins. The nearest fabric store with bright orange fabric was 4 hours away! Fortunately, we were heading out that way for a birthday party. The only items I had on hand were the hula hoop for the bottom circle, a beach pail for the top, and hard poster board (from recycling) for the bottom. My son, Jordan, had the oddball idea of being a traffic cone this year. As my kids get older I require that they get more creative with their Halloween costume ideas.
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