Michelle Maskevich hands out a fake ticket Wednesday to a parent parked in a no parking zone near Tomiyasu School. Volunteers gave tip sheets to drivers to inform them about traffic laws near schools. Photo by Gary Thompson.

Fifth-grader Erika Greisen made a prediction Wednesday about how the early-morning driving habits of parents dropping off their children at Tomiyasu Elementary School would miraculously improve.

"I bet they'll be good today," Erika said. "They won't be stopping at the crosswalk, because they'll see the TV cameras."

According to Erika's mother, Gina, her daughter's foresight proved somewhat true. But parents dropping their children off at a gate on the north end of the school near Russell and Sandhill roads were still breaking traffic laws, including driving faster than the 15 mph school zone speed limit, parking in no parking zones and blocking the crosswalk near the school.

Greisen and about 10 parents and community volunteers acted as traffic enforcement officials Wednesday in a campaign they dubbed "Safe For a Day."

They handed out fake tickets to drivers along with a tip sheet of what they can and can't do near the school. Some even wore orange tops, similar to those of crossing guards.

"It's better than usual," said Greisen, who ranked the morning a 6 out of 10 in terms of how bad traffic violations were. "But there are still people violating the rules."

On a bad day, Greisen said, it's not uncommon for parents to also make U-turns at the crosswalk and to double and triple park.

Paul Reese received a fake ticket for not parking far enough away from the crosswalk.

"I didn't realize I couldn't park here," he told a volunteer. "But you bring up a good point about blocking the kids' views."

The tip sheet that Greisen and volunteers gave to traffic violators said three children have been hit by vehicles walking to and from Tomiyasu in the past three years. All survived, but some children from district schools have not been so fortunate.

Amanda Aragon, an 11-year-old student at Sawyer Middle School, was killed in October by a hit-and-run driver as she maneuvered her way through a crosswalk toward the school in the morning.

Greisen wants to avoid a similar tragedy.

No on-duty crossing guards were on the streets near Tomiyasu Wednesday, Greisen said. However, she said, other schools that are not in residential areas could use crossing guards more than Tomiyasu.

The district does not allocate crossing guards at schools; that responsibility is handled by police departments in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson.

Helen Lawhon, who manages crossing guards for Las Vegas police, said her department is short about 55 crossing guards. Las Vegas police are responsible for distributing crossing guards at 135 schools.

Lawhon said her department can't take officers away from working on serious crimes to patrol parents' behavior.

She said the traffic problems occur at all elementary schools. Lawhon attributes parents' driving habits to elementary schools not providing enough parking space, which is usually taken up by a playground and athletic fields.

She said the problem would be resolved if school districts built more two-story elementary schools.

"That's why they are parking three and four deep in the streets," Lawhon said. "It has to do with how the schools are built."