1000 SW Jackson
Suite 230
Topeka, KS 66612-1274
(785) 296-1223
(785) 296-8645 (FAX)

Coordinator:
Jan Stegelman

Executive Committee
Dennis Cooley, MD
Medical Advisor
American Academy of
Pediatrics, Kansas
Chapter

Vanda Easley
State Farm Insurance
Companies

Cindy Hermes
State Capitol Area
Firefighters Association

Ami Hyten
Kansas Trial Lawyers
Association

Elena Nuss
Kansas State
Fire Marshall's Office

Rosanne Rutkowski
Kansas State Nurses
Association

Cindy Yelkin
Kansas Hospital
Association

Oct. 8 is Kansas SAFE KIDS Walk Your Child To School Day

Kansas children will have an opportunity to participate in a very special walk to school when schools and community groups across the state celebrate Kansas Walk Your Child To School Day on Wednesday, October 8, 2003. The event, sponsored by Kansas SAFE KIDS, is planned as a way to encourage parents to teach children about pedestrian safety and to make communities aware of the difficulties and dangers children may face on their trip to school each day.

"School age children are particularly vulnerable to pedestrian injury because they have difficulty judging the speed and distance of oncoming cars. Children need to learn how to walk to school safely, and parents need to teach and review important safety guidelines with their children. What better way to do this than to walk your child to school?" said Jan Stegelman of the Kansas SAFE KIDS Coalition. "By walking children to school, you can also determine how safe their route is for walking and where improvements can be made."

Unfortunately, pedestrian injury is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children in the United States ages 5 to 14. In Kansas, 43% of the children age 0-14 hospitalized for pedestrian injury were age 5-9 (1999 and 2000). Since children are not developmentally and cognitively ready to cross the street alone until age 10, parents and schools must take an active role in assuring children's safety while walking to and from school.

As part of Walk Your Child to School Day, children and parents will receive tips on how to choose a safe walking route, pedestrian safety tips, and a Walkability Survey which helps parents to determine how safe their child's route to school is. Each participating child will receive reflective shoelace tags.

"Even if your community or school is not participating in this special statewide event, you can walk your child to and/or from school sometime during that week," said Stegelman. Additional information for parents is available at www.safekids.org and www.walktoschool.org.

Kansas SAFE KIDS recommends that children under 10 never cross the street alone. Parents and care givers can use the following guidelines to teach their children about walking to school safely.

• Choose the safest route and walk it with children. Look for the most direct route with the fewest street crossings. Walk the route with children until they demonstrate traffic safety awareness. They should take the same route every day and avoid shortcuts.
• Teach children to cross the street at a corner, using traffic signals and crosswalks whenever possible. Use this time to teach children what traffic signals really mean. Make sure children allow plenty of time to cross. Teach them to walk, not run, across intersections. Tell children to listen to adult crossing guards or safety patrols at monitored intersections
• Make sure children stop and look in all directions before crossing the street. Teach them to stop at the curb or edge of the road, and to look left, right and left again for traffic before and while crossing the street - even if crossing with the light. Make sure that children know how to make eye contract with drivers and wave to ensure the driver sees them before crossing. Many children assume that because they can see the driver, the driver can see them.
• Teach children not to enter the street from between parked cars or from behind bushes or shrubs. They must also watch for cars that are turning or backing up.
• Make sure children always wear footwear and clothing that incorporates retroreflective material. In addition, children should carry a flashlight when walking at dawn or dusk.
• Warn children to be extra alert in bad weather. Visibility might be poor and motorists might not be able to see them or stop quickly.
• Be a good role model by demonstrating proper pedestrian safety. Parents, care givers and older peers should set good examples for younger children. Children need you to not only tell them, but also show them how to be safe pedestrians. If there are older children in your home or neighborhood, express to them how important it is to be good role models.

Kansas SAFE KIDS, Inc. is a nonprofit coalition of 67 statewide organizations and businesses dedicated to preventing unintentional injuries to Kansas children ages 0-14. Local coalitions and chapters are located in Anderson, Clay, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Ford, Franklin, Johnson, Marion, Montgomery, Osage, Pottawatomie, Rice, Saline, and Shawnee Counties, as well as Chanute, Hutchinson, Junction City, Leavenworth, Manhattan, Norton, Pittsburg, and Wichita. Kansas SAFE KIDS is affiliated with the National SAFE KIDS Campaign.