Lehi's 26 crossing guards are reporting near-miss incidents with impatient drivers as the school year gets underway, the Lehi Police Department said.

Sgt. Lily Southwick told the Lehi Free Press that no crossing guards, bus drivers or students have been injured. But the close calls are adding up.

"Injuring a child because you are impatient isn't an excuse," Southwick said. "Our crossing guards and bus drivers are very good, and they do their jobs well, and we haven't had any injuries. However, we've had too many close calls."

Passing a school bus carries a $1,000 minimum fine

Southwick said it is illegal to pass a school bus on either side when its lights are flashing and its stop sign is extended. Under Utah Code Section 41-6a-1302, a first offense is a class C misdemeanor. The minimum penalty is a $1,000 fine and 10 hours of compensatory service.

Drivers must also remain stopped at crosswalks until the crossing guard and all pedestrians have completely cleared the road. Moving once children pass one lane is not enough, according to the Lehi Free Press report published Wednesday, Sept. 2.

In the two weeks before that report, several guards took to social media to describe what they see on the job. One guard wrote that cars have come within inches of students or herself because drivers did not want to wait.

Safe walking routes help officers find missing students

Utah law requires every K-8 school, whether public, private or charter, to create and distribute a child access routing plan. The plan, formerly known as the Student Neighborhood Access Program (SNAP), identifies the safest walking routes to each campus. School districts and community councils review those plans each year, according to the Utah Department of Transportation.

Southwick said the routes do more than guide students. If a child does not arrive home on time, officers use the mapped routes to narrow their search.

The department's 26 guards help more than 18,000 students get to school each day across Lehi. Southwick said children walking in groups are safer because they are easier for drivers to spot and tend to travel through school zones where the speed limit is 20 mph or less.