HOPE — Traffic safety improvements, including a slower speed limit, have been implemented near Hauser Jr.-Sr. High School where four students were injured in an auto accident in August.
Hauser High School senior Erin Newcomb was critically injured in the accident when the vehicle carrying four students was struck by an oncoming truck.
Newcomb suffered a traumatic brain injury and broken bones, and spent 51 days at four different hospitals due to the accident, but has since returned to school.
In response, the speed limit has been reduced on State Road 9 from 45 mph to 35 mph. Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp. contacted the Indiana Department of Transportation shortly after the Aug. 29 accident, said Shawn Price, district superintendent.
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Price said district officials met with INDOT on several occasions to look at the traffic patterns of the intersection of State Road 9 and Hauser Drive and what could be done to make it more safe.
Among the recommendations from the district was to lower the posted speed limit in front of the school, which took effect a few days into January, he said.
“We found that was probably the most substantial change made to reduce that speed limit from 45 to 35 mph,” Price said.
During students’ arrival and release from school, the district has had in place for some time flashing lights that make it a 30 mph zone, Price said. The 30 mph speed limit is in effect from about 7:30 to 8 a.m. and 3 to 3:30 p.m. during the week, he added.
Another change is additional signage that is reflective and more visible for motorists as they approach the schools nearby, according to Price.
“We wanted to make sure that we were doing everything we could to provide the safest environment we can,” he said.
The changes, Price said, were important for the district as it looks for ways to make sure students and staff are safe. That involved looking at the number of accidents in the area and on State Road 9, he added.
Price said no additional changes are planned, but noted that officials will monitor what has taken place in the meantime.
“This is a way to keep our school and community safe and this is one step that will help in that goal,” he said.
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Traffic safety features currently in place near Hauser Jr.-Sr. High School:
Speed limit has been reduced from 45 to 35 mph on State Road 9
During student arrival and release times, flashing lights alert drivers that it is a 30 mph zone between the hours of 7:30 and 8 a.m. and from 3 to 3:30 p.m.
Reflective signage posted to alert motorists that they are approaching schools nearby
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