From walking to school, to visiting a friend’s house your children are always out and about. Make sure they know how to safely navigate the streets. According to Safe Kids, “Pedestrian injury remains the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 5 to 14.”
Pedestrian Safety Tips from Safe Kids
Teach safe behaviors:
- Look left, right and left again before crossing the street. Cross when the street is clear, and keep looking both ways while crossing. Walk, don’t run. Understand and obey traffic signals and signs.
- Walk facing traffic, on sidewalks or paths, so that you can see oncoming cars. If there are no sidewalks, walk as far to the left as possible.
Practice safe behaviors:
- Don’t allow a child under age 10 to cross streets alone as he may not be able to fully appreciate the speed of cars on the road.
- Require children to carry a flashlight at night, dawn and dusk. Add retroreflective materials to children’s clothing so that a child can be seen by motorists, even in the dark.
- Don’t let kids play in driveways, unfenced yards, streets or parking lots. Drivers may not see or anticipate children playing.