For the eleventh year, Safe Kids and FedEx will team up to teach school children how to be safe pedestrians as they walk to and from school. this is a great opportunity to teach your children about pedestrian safety. Safe Kids USA will hold more than 600 International Walk to School Day activities, raising awareness around specific pedestrian dangers or issues in local communities.
In 2008, 4,378 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States, and another 69,000 pedestrians were injured. This averages one crash-related pedestrian death every 2 hours, and a pedestrian injury every 8 minutes. Pedestrians are 1.5 times more likely than passenger vehicle occupants to be killed in a car crash on each trip.
According to the CDC, these groups are most likely to be injured or killed as a pedestrian:- Older adults
Pedestrians ages 65 and older accounted for 18% of all pedestrian deaths and an estimated 10% of all pedestrians injured in 2008. - Children
In 2008, one in every five children between the ages of 5 and 9 who were killed in traffic crashes was a pedestrian. - Drivers and pedestrians who are alcohol-impaired
Alcohol-impairment—either for the driver or for the pedestrian—was reported in 48 percent of the traffic crashes that resulted in pedestrian death. Of the pedestrians involved, 36 percent had a blood alcohol concentration above the illegal limit.
Additionally, higher vehicle speeds increase both the likelihood of a pedestrian being struck by a car and the severity of injury.3 In addition, most pedestrian and bicyclist deaths occur in urban areas, non-intersection locations, and at night. In 2009, approximately 13,000 child pedestrians age 14 and younger were injured in crashes with motor vehicles.
Top Walking to School Safety Tips
Reminders for drivers:
- Slow down whenever you see children alongside the road, even if they are on a sidewalk.
- Be especially alert in the residential neighborhoods and school zones.
- Take extra time to look for kids at intersections, on medians and on curbs.
- Always enter and exit driveways and alleys slowly and carefully.
- Watch for children on and near the road in the morning and after school hours.
- Reduce any distractions inside your car so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings.
- Put down your phone and don’t talk or text while driving.
Reminders for your kids:
- They should cross the street with an adult until they are at least 10 years old.
- They should only Cross the street at corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks.
- Never run out into the streets or cross in between parked cars.
- Make sure they always walk in front of the bus where the driver can see them.
- Be especially careful at intersections, where drivers may fail to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians while turning onto another street.
- During the winter when the suns sets earlier, children can increase their visibility by carrying a flashlight when walking and by wearing retro-reflective clothing.
- It is much safer to walk on a sidewalk, but if children must walk in the street, they should walk facing traffic.
