Crossing guard in Falcon School District 49 shares perspective on student safety

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- For Tom Beauchamp, it started out as something to do between watching TV and taking naps.

"I had two grandsons at Woodmen Hills Elementary School," he said. "I thought I'd give crossing guard a try."

Five years later, he's still on the job -- twice a day, five days a week, during the school year -- at the intersection of Del Rio and Eastonville roads, which is the main intersection near the school.

While some local schools may have as many as three crossing guards at an intersection, Beauchamp works alone and said that he enjoys the relationship he has with students and parents as he guides them through the crosswalk.

"See you this afternoon," he told a family before school on a recent morning.

Beauchamp said that he's all too aware of injuries and deaths to pedestrians happening more frequently -- even in crosswalks where they should be the safest.

"I had a close call once when a driver was on her cell phone and rolled through my stop sign," he recalled. "I even see kids crossing the street while looking at their cell phones. Phones and not paying attention are the biggest problems I see."

As the Falcon area continues to grow, traffic is increasing and Beauchamp notices that more drivers are in a hurry and impatient.

"I have to watch the cars very carefully because people like (to do) rolling stops," he explained. "And the (intersection) sign has changed from School Zone 20mph to When Children Are Present. They need to change it back."

Beauchamp paused to point at part of the intersection.

"There's one of the little guys, he always sits right there waiting for his brother and sister. (Drivers) can't see him. The drivers seem to push as far as they can, especially in the afternoon. Like, they're going to save two seconds. I never have any trouble with drivers. A couple of dirty looks once in a while. I don't let (drivers) go until the kids are out of the street. Step up on the curb, then they can go. A lot of people get upset about that because their lane is clear and they have to wait until I tell them to go."

While he takes pride in his role as a crossing guard, Beauchamp emphasizes that safety isn't solely his responsibility.

"Drivers and pedestrians have a responsibility, too," he said. "It's up to all of us. We all need to remember that."