One in five high school students and one in eight middle school students cross the street while distracted, according to research performed by Safe Kids Worldwide.
It may be hard to hear, but unintentional pedestrian injuries are the fifth leading cause of injury-related death in the United States for children ages 5 to 19. Teenagers are now at greatest risk. Teens have a death rate twice that of younger children and account for half of all child pedestrian deaths.
Is remedial street crossing training needed? No, but going over some simple tips with your teens and pre-teens to remind them to cross the road aware, and to not leave their senses at the curb, is a start! Safe Kids Worldwide recommends the following:
Tips for Parents
- From the first conversation you have with young children about crossing the street safely, talk about the dangers of distraction.
- Talk to teens about putting down mobile devices while walking and remind them of the importance of looking up, listening and making eye contact with drivers when crossing the street.
- Set a good example by putting devices down when you are driving or walking around cars.
Tips for Teens
- Put devices down, look up, listen and make eye contact with drivers before crossing the street.
- Remember to watch out for cars that are turning or backing up. Walk on sidewalks or paths and cross at street corners with traffic signals and crosswalks when possible.
- Be aware of others who may be distracted – and speak up when you see someone who is distracted.
- If you need to use a cell phone, stop on the sidewalk and find a safe area to talk. If you are wearing headphones, pull them down or turn the volume off before you cross the street.
- Driveways and parking lots can be especially dangerous because we are walking close to moving cars. Turn off devices in places where cars are going in unexpected directions, such as backing out of a parking spot or turning out of a driveway.
Tips for Drivers
- When driving, look both ways for cyclists, walkers or runners who may not be immediately visible or may step into the street unexpectedly.
- Slow down and be especially alert in residential neighborhoods and school zones.
- Eliminate any distractions inside your car so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings.
Speaking of Distractions …
- 71 percent of teens and young people say they have composed or sent SMS messages while driving.
- 78 percent of teens and young adults say they have read an SMS message while driving.
(Source: NHTSA.gov)
You would not drive with a blindfold on, so please don’t drive while texting or distracted. But you can:
- Drive without sending or receiving texts.
- Call/text before you start driving to let parents, friends and others know when you’ll arrive.
- Pull over to a safe location to check texts or listen to voicemail.
- Deputize your passenger when you are driving to text or make calls for you.
- When alone, turn your cell phone off or on vibrate before starting to drive.
- Wait to text or call others until they have stopped driving.
- Stop texting or end phone conversations with others once you learn they are driving.
- Pull over to a safe location or wait until you are finished driving to eat or apply make-up.
- Pull over to a safe location or wait until you are finished driving to adjust music, change CDs, check Facebook, surf the Internet or scroll through iPods, iPhones or similar devices.
- When being driven by a distracted driver, ask the driver to drive more safely.
- As a passenger, share the responsibility for arriving safely with your driver and offer help so your driver does not drive distracted.
(Family Safe Driving agreement provided by EndDD: End Distracted Driving)
We also strongly support Maria’s Message – an effort to cut down on distracted driving named for Maria Tiberi, the daughter of local TV news anchor Dom Tiberi who died in a distracted driving incident – and the information her family wants to get out to everyone, and we urge all young drivers to take the pledge.
To take the pledge, visit www.10tv.com/content/pages/marias-message/embeds/pledge.html.
SAVE THE DATE!
Oct. 12, 2014
Annual Fire Department Open House
1-3 p.m.
Our annual Open House is always a huge day for our community. It is an event you and your family don’t want to miss!