It is Back to School time which means there are many kids walking to and from school. This month in our Keeping Kids Safe blog, we discuss pedestrian accidents and teaching children to safely travel to and from school.
It is important to teach kids to safely navigate the road and cross the street. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), pedestrians were one of the only groups of road users to experience an increase in fatalities in 2012 study. According to the Traffic Safety Facts from April 2014, “On average, a pedestrian was killed every two hours and injured every seven minutes in traffic crashes. Fourteen percent of all traffic fatalities and an estimated 3 percent of those injured in traffic crashes were pedestrians.” These are scary statistics, but we believe awareness can help reduce these tragic numbers.
Safe Walking Tips to Avoid Pedestrian Accidents:
Here are a few tips to reduce the risk on the walk to or from school.
1) Walk with an Adult: Whenever possible always wait for adult supervision to enter a roadway or cross the street. Another option is to walk with a group of children. It is recommended all children 10 years or younger walk with an adult.
2) Cross at a Designated Cross-Walk or Intersection: The majority of fatal crashes among young pedestrians occur between noon and 8 pm at non-intersection locations. Avoid this risk by teaching your children to cross at the appropriately marked locations or where there is a presence of a crossing guard.
3) Don’t Just Look for Cars, Listen: Don’t use headphones while navigating the streets. Our ears are an extremely important sense that allow us to hear a vehicle approaching around a corner or curve even if we don’t see one.
4) A Green Light Doesn’t Always Mean it’s Safe to Cross: When you see a green light, stop and look both directions, left-right-left for cars, before you step off the curve. Once you see it is safe then proceed. Remember cars can turn right on red or may have a green arrow to turn left allowing car to proceed in to an intersection or cross walk.
Please practice pedestrian safety to reduce the risk of injury or accidents when crossing the street!
The founding partners at Martinez & Schill LLP are both mothers of young children. Our “Keeping Kids Safe” feature is a reminder on relevant topics to help parents to keep their kids safe. Stay Safe Everyone! Follow our Facebook to See More on Keeping Kids Safe!
If you or your child are the victims of a pedestrian accident or car accident please contact our office. We offer free consultations and are always willing to help a family in need. San Diego office: 619-512-5995 or Riverside office: 951-200-4630.