After a five-year-old girl was nearly hit by a car while walking to school on Ord Road outside of Paget Primary recently, principal Wendell Smith has joined the call for increased penalty zones for traffic offenders to be introduced around schools.

?We need to be proactive not reactive,? he said after the narrowly avoided accident.

The five-year-old girl was walking to school hand-in-hand with her brother when a passing car almost hit her.

Mr. Smith said: ?We have to be looking at the safety of all of our children.

?Obviously there is an increased chance of accidents transpiring if no measures are taken ? its logical,? said Mr. Smith.

Mr. Smith is calling for legislation to create increased penalty zones around schools for speeding and other traffic violations ? similar to those which are in place for drug offences.

Mr. Smith said he has been asking for measures to be taken to improve safety outside of his school for the past five years.

Government has told him those measures will be implemented over the next two weeks.

?I was anticipating the work (road safety measures) to have been done over the summer ? that would have been ideal,? said Mr. Smith.

?I am eagerly awaiting action by Works and Engineering.?

He added that no work has yet been done but last week the road was paved.

?I would like to see action taken to improve the physical site ? more signs to create a visual caution for drivers and anti-skid markings,? said Mr. Smith.

The family of six-year-old Tyaisha Cox have also called for changes in legislation after her death. Tyaisha was hit by a car while crossing the street outside of Purvis Primary on St. Mary?s Road, Warwick.

Mr. Smith said he asked Police to carry out radar checks by the school but they have only done so a few times.

The ideal time to do speed checks outside of the school is between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., he said.

Mr. Smith said the road outside of his school is a straightaway where it is easy for drivers to speed.

Students, meanwhile, must catch buses on both sides of the street.

Mr. Smith said drivers know East Broadway is a common place for Police to hide out and catch speeders and that schools should also be places drivers are cautious about.

?There need to be more measures taken to alert the public that they are approaching a school zone,? he said.

He is hoping for a complete overhaul of the area outside of the school to make it safer for students.

New measures to improve road safety were announced in February.

The measures came from a technical committee set up after Tyaisha?s death.

Recommendations included:

Proposed creation of ?school zones? with lower speed limits.

Improved road markings and better signs.

Encouraging caution among the drivers in these zones.

Apply anti-skid coatings to road surfaces approaching bus stops.

Build elevated crosswalks.

Build sidewalks at bus stops near schools where none exist.