I have found myself a little angry this week. It’s not the wisping away of the warm weather or the shorter days, either.

No, it’s a little more visceral than that. This gripe goes right down to the core of me and very close to home — literally.

This week’s down trough is brought to you by the words “negligence” and “vehicular assault,” and is sponsored by the Auburn City Council and the Auburn School Committee.

The setting: Fairview Elementary School on Minot Avenue.

For starters, I am a parent. My oldest went to Fairview for a couple years, and my youngest is a student there and has been his entire school career.

Second, I work there on occasion as a substitute teacher, so I have spent more time there than the average parent.

Marla Hoffman

I love those kids. I have subbed in all the grades there now, I think. I’ve led music class and gym class. I’ve done arts and crafts with the 4-year-olds in pre-k and aided students in the special education rooms. Sometimes I’ll run into one of the students outside of school and their smiles when they recognize me is such a blessing.

It’s a special place where I feel like I have learned just as much from the students as they have from me — maybe more.

So, when I picked up my son from school Tuesday afternoon and he told me about how he saw Principal Celeste Beaudet running in through the front doors that morning yelling “call 9-1-1!”, I was more than just a little worried.

I got on the sunjournal.com app and read about how a 7-year-old boy was struck by a car while walking across Minot Avenue to get to the school.

I’ll be the one to say it: I wasn’t surprised. I was horrified, yes, but not surprised in the slightest.

The driver somehow managed to not see the flashing yellow lights on poles on the side of the four-lane highway.

The driver, for no reason explained by police, didn’t see the crossing guard walking in the road holding a stop sign with flashing red lights.

Worse still, the driver even missed a little boy minding his business, trying to start his day.

How? I mean . . . HOW?

Traffic during 8 to 8:30 a.m. and 2:45 to 3:15 p.m. in front of the school has long been a nightmare. I have lived just around the corner from the school, off Minot Avenue, for more than eight years, and it has never been safe. My daughter used to ride her bike to school some days with her friends, and I would watch her ride away down the street every time, scared that her bike might tip over into traffic or that a car speeding away from the posted school zone would somehow ride up onto the curb and take the kids out.

Sounds dramatic? Well, then you haven’t been on that road during those times of day. It’s scary.

I can’t tell you how many times I have been dropping off or picking up my kids and I hear the crossing guard or a teacher yell “slow down!” at passing cars. So many times we see the crossing guard literally stepping out into traffic for our children while a driver ignores him and speeds by. Some drivers don’t even bother to slow down.

This has been going on for so long with no change and seemingly not a second thought from the city and school board, it was only a matter of time before someone was struck. This time, the boy walked away with minor injuries. What will it be next time?

The city posts police officers along that stretch of Minot Avenue at the beginning of every school year for about a week. Then they are hardly seen again.

The parking lot situation is also horrible, and the number of parents dropping their kids off and picking them up makes the situation dismally worse and even more dangerous.

Speeding drivers + large volume of vehicles + young children + one ignored crossing guard = apparently no problem for the city.

Why has it taken the city and School Committee so long to address this? The traffic in front of the school must be the worst-kept secret in the city, because everyone knows about it but nothing substantial has been done about it — at least not as long as I have lived almost in the school’s backyard.

Why did it take a child almost losing his life for any action to be taken?

Superintendent Susan Dorris said at the School Committee meeting Wednesday that more crossing guards will be added and they will be “increasing police presence on Minot Avenue.”

I hope it helps. Truly. But since the driver claimed he didn’t see the crossing guard, how can we be sure he’ll see two?

See, here’s the thing: I believe the driver didn’t see the crossing guard or the child. I can hardly believe a sane, properly functional person would willfully do what he did.

But did any one ask why? The police haven’t said what happened or why he didn’t see them. Was he perhaps looking at his phone? Was he so distracted by the other cars on the road? Was the sun in his eyes? Was he speeding and couldn’t stop in time? I want to know why.

Based on the driver’s charges, we may never know.

The 29-year-old driver was charged with driving to endanger and was issued a traffic citation for “operator failing to obey crossing guard,” Auburn police said in a Facebook post.

Sorry (not sorry), that’s not good enough. If you are driving and you can’t pay attention enough to see flashing signs and people in front of you then you probably shouldn’t be behind the wheel.

A suspended driver’s license might have been appropriate. A distracted driving charge sounds like it might be warranted.

What don’t we know here? How can we be sure this won’t happen again if we don’t actually know what happened.

What else do these drivers want? Giant, ear-blasting sirens when they enter the school zone?

Here’s a suggestion for the city to consider: Speed tables.

Hear me now: I hate speed bumps and speed tables. Such a pain. But I’ll tell you what, when I am driving past Washburn Elementary School, I slow the heck down before driving over those puppies.

While at the height of traffic they can be a nuisance — I get that — but when it comes to children and school zones, how much are drivers willing to prioritize their own convenience over that of safety? Seriously.

Besides that, the posted speed limit on Minot Avenue goes from 25 mph as you make your way up the hill to 30 near the school and 35 at the fire station. To reiterate: I live right there — I see drivers going 40, sometimes even 50-60 on that stretch and down toward Walgreens and beyond.

I’ve been on walks with my son on Minot Avenue, heading to get a sandwich at Georgio’s or an ice cream at Fielder’s Choice. Other than the crosswalks in front of and near the school and at the corner of Court Street, there are no other safe paths for people to cross the highway.

Maybe the city should add more crosswalks on that stretch? Maybe those crosswalks should have flashing lights and “walk/don’t walk” indicators.

There are more options than what the city and School Committee have offered so far. They need to do more. We need to demand more.

I don’t want there to be next time.

Marla Hoffman is the nighttime managing editor for the Sun Journal and can be reached at mhoffman@sunjournal.com.