Pedestrian Safety for Big Kids On The Way
Whether walking to a friend’s house, to school or around town, children need to know how to navigate streets safely. Pedestrian injury remains the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 5 to 14.
Because a child’s size and cognitive ability are constantly developing, in addition to environmental risks like speeding motorists there are many hazards that can cause accidents and injuries.
 Top Tips
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.
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Safety Tools
There are many tools that parents can use to help to keep children safe from injuries. Many of them are affordable and can be found at many stores.
What you'll need:
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Retroreflective stickers |
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