Driver fined after disobeying crossing guard while giving the finger

Waterloo regional police are concerned after an interaction one of their officers experienced while making sure children got to school safely.

Constable Paul Simon was out conducting enforcement on Sept. 22 on Laurelwood Drive in Waterloo. St. Nicholas Catholic Elementary School and Laurelwood Public School are in the area, and as a result, many children are crossing roads in the morning and afternoon in the community.

In a video shared to social media by police, a driver of a black car can be seen flying through an intersection as the crossing guard is walking across, attempting to stop traffic.

In that interaction, the officer said he saw the driver also give the crossing guard the middle finger.

The footage then cuts to Simon stopping the driver.

“I’m gonna take a second just to explain what was going through my head; I expect you to give me the ticket anyway,” the driver says in the video. “Because I know I’m supposed to stop. You got a group of kids on the other side of the road. They’re way on the other side, not entering the street until the crossing guard’s out right?”

“There’s no chance I’m hitting anybody right,” the driver said.

Simon replies by saying “That’s not how it works though. It’s for the crossing guard’s safety too.”

As a result, the driver received a $365 fine for not stopping and four demerit points.

“The law is clear and the driver’s opinion that he would never hit someone is concerning – in a school area with young children there is always a chance that students might enter unexpectedly,” a spokesperson for the Waterloo Regional Police Service told CityNews in an email.

Drivers are expected to stop before the crosswalk, wait a few seconds it takes children to cross and pause until everyone is out of the intersection including the crossing guard.

“Momentary patience ensures that students and crossing guards are safely at school,” police said.