The first thing Tara Thibaudeau wants you to know is that the accident wasn’t the driver’s fault, nor her son’s. It was just that — an accident.

The second thing she wants you to know is that while nobody was seriously hurt, it could have been much worse. And she wants Warren residents to take heart and learn from her family’s near miss.

Just after 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, Ms. Thibaudeau’s 13-year-old son was hit by a car as he rode his bike across a crosswalk on Main Street, just down from the Thibaudeau home near St. Mary of The Bay Church. He was crossing from west to east, edged out onto the walk after a southbound truck stopped for him, but was hit by a car headed north, on the far side of the road. He and the bike ended up on the sidewalk. But apart from some bumps and bruises, he was OK. The driver was not charged and Ms. Thibaudeau, the director of the Warren Recreation Department, said she has no problems with the driver and her role in the accident.

Her son was lucky, she said, but the accident could have been tragic, like other crosswalk fatalities earlier this year in Bristol and several years ago in Warren, in front of Delekta’s Pharmacy.

Now, Ms. Thibaudeau is using her son’s incident as a cautionary tale, hoping to spread the word about crosswalk and pedestrian safety and etiquette. She hopes the things she plans — talking to kids directly through the recreation department, working with students at the Hugh Cole School and coordinating with police — will do some good.

“My biggest concern is creating a cultural change,” she said. “People are not aware of the laws associated with crosswalks (and) some pedestrians don’t stop. It’s very difficult to cross streets anywhere uptown. I hope this can be a teachable moment.”

According to state law, bicyclists are considered pedestrians and as such have a duty to make sure their path is clear when crossing on a crosswalk or other unmarked areas. But in Warren, she said, crosswalks are sometimes obscured and drivers don’t always heed them.

Following the accident, she reached out to the Warren Town Manager, members of the Warren Town Council and asked if town officials could work with the state DOT to make some crosswalks a bit more visible. So far, she said she has received positive comments from councilors and the manager. And she said, there has been prompt action on the police front.

“I know that (police) are taking action,” she said. “I know that they have had people go out and check the crosswalks.”

Deputy Warren Police Chief Roy Borges said Monday that his department is more than happy to help highlight traffic safety in any way officers can. He said officers speak to youngsters regularly and have bike safety days at Hugh Cole, and try to educate the public on safety whenever the chance arises.

“Downtown Main Street as you know is a tough area,” Deputy Chief Borges said. “We try to do as much as we can. We’ve looked at the crosswalks on Main Street and we’re looking” to keep an eye on them in the future.

In addition, he said, officers are looking into a statewide grant program that provides funds for the hiring of an officer, dressed in civilian clothes, to patrol crosswalked areas with a baby carriage, trying to catch and speak to drivers who do not slow down or let pedestrians cross at crosswalks. The Town of Portsmouth took advantage of that same grant several months ago.

“We’re looking into it,” he said.

Ms. Thibaudeau said she hopes real change takes place in the wake of the accident, and that those who use the town’s streets, pedestrian or vehicle-borne, slow down and look.

“Warren is trying to promote itself as a pedestrian-friendly community,” she said. “Accidents happen … I don’t know what the solution is. But this is a chance to just bring it to light and put it out there. I’m trying to make something positive out of a bad situation.”