Drivers must take initiative to save lives

It only takes a moment. Just ask the family of Jolene Devlin.

The 15-year-old freshman at Sayreville War Memorial High School lost her life earlier this month while en route to her school bus stop on a bright, clear morning. As she crossed Main Street, she was struck by a car driven by another borough resident who lived several blocks away.

According to the police, driver Paul Muller didn’t see the teen until it was too late. Early morning sun glare in part was to blame. But Devlin’s family tells another story. The student was nearly across the street when she was struck, not a mere step away from the curb. The driver, they say, should have known better, as should the school district for placing a bus stop on such a busy road.

In order to prevent this tragedy from happening to other families, borough officials are considering an ordinance requiring Main Street buses to pick up students on the same side of the street. This is certainly a laudable aim, but the real solution doesn’t lie in ordinances or laws. It must come from the drivers themselves.

After all, you can have as many patrols as you like, ticketing errant drivers until their heads spin. But it only takes one instant of lapsed attention, one moment of not being able to see clearly. It doesn’t matter if you never had a point on your license. When a 3-ton vehicle bears down on a human being, that human being inevitably loses.

We’re not saying that the driver in question was definitely at fault. The Sayreville Police Department did not charge him with any violations. But the message to drivers everywhere should be the same: Slow down, be careful. It’s somebody’s child crossing that street.