Authorized supervisor Tina almost mowed off the road by reckless driver: “The size is full” (Brecht)

“It’s enough,” Tina Wouters responds, still impressed. On Tuesday morning she was mowed almost off the road on the corner of Vaartstraat and Eyndovensteenweg by an impatient driver. Like every morning, she helped parents and children cross between 8 and 8:30 am.

“I always let cyclists dismount so that they can safely cross the zebra crossing. They were just over half way when a driver drove up from Eyndovensteenweg and wanted to turn right towards Sint-Lenaarts. I stood in the middle of the zebra crossing, with a fluorescent vest and a sign. When I saw her coming, I went up to her to talk to her about it. She did not allow that, had ‘no time’ and continued driving in a frenzy. I was able to jump out of the way just in time, but it really didn’t make much difference.”

A dad saw it happen and the supervisor was able to write down the license plate just in time. “During our training as authorized supervisors, we learned to always look at the car and write down the license plate.”

For ten years, Tina has been safely transferring school children in the center of Brecht in the mornings. “I started it in November 2014. I was then a member of the parent committee of GBS De Sleutelbloem and there was already a shortage of authorized supervisors. For the first three years I was on Lessiusstraat and since 2017 I have been on Vaartstraat. It is noticeably busier there and also more dangerous in recent years.”

“The behavior of some motorists is incomprehensible, knowing that so many children have to cross at that location”

Tina Wouters

Authorized supervisor

Tina even looked for a job that would allow her to combine the duties of an authorized supervisor. But increasingly she risks her own life. “It’s not the first time. It regularly happens that cars rush past me or come very close to me. It is incomprehensible, knowing that so many children have to pass through that place in the morning.”

“Fortunately, there are also friendly drivers who respond with gratitude. Yet I see road rage increasing. Since corona, people have been noticeably more in a hurry and much less courteous in traffic.”

Additional measures?

Last week was enough for her. She contacted the police. “I called the secretariat. To my great dismay, the receptionist told me that this may not be followed up, and I was told to make an appointment online.”

She did so and was able to come for an interview on Thursday. Although she has the impression that she has not really been heard. “Since then I have heard nothing about it and seen no reports of it,” she notes with disappointment.

“Yet something urgently needs to change. Additional police surveillance, or traffic calming measures, can help. If this doesn’t happen, it will end with a lot of pain in my heart. I don’t want the children to suffer from this, but if my safety cannot be guaranteed, how can I guarantee that of the children?”

“The traffic department does monitor school environments, but there are a lot of schools. The police cannot man every dangerous point themselves. That is why we are very grateful to the authorized supervisors for taking on this task. We would like to emphasize this again to the authorized supervisor,” says spokesperson Nick Crols of the Voorkempen Police Zone.

Home visit

“The local police officer will certainly visit the driver’s home. This behavior is not possible. Last year we received two more reports of aggression towards an authorized supervisor. Road users clearly do not understand what the role of the authorized supervisor is. We have to work on that. It is a matter of raising awareness and this can be done in consultation with the municipality. We will meet about this next week.”

“A speed limit of 50 km per hour applies at the Vaartstraat-Eynovensteenweg intersection. The municipality can request that traffic counts be carried out and a warning sign placed. Based on these results, it can be determined at a later stage which speed-reducing measures are possible,” Crols explains.