Ramsey Resident - 2009 - September/October (2)

Home

\. Help keep your children safe from unintentional injury - the number one killer of kids - by teaching them safe ways to travel to and from school. Pedestrian injuries are a leading cause of unintentional death among children ages 5 to 14, and the back- to-school season provides a great op- pOltunity to teach kids common sense safety behavior. Walking to School Choose the safest route and walk it with your children. Look for the most direct route with the fewest street crossings. Try to choose routes where school safety patrols will be present. (Check with your school if you're not sure.) Children under age 10 should walk with an adult or older child every day because they do not have the necessary skills to judge the speed or distance of oncoming traffic. Also, their peripheral vi- sion is 1/3 less than that of adults. Teach children to obey all traffic signals and markings. Children should be taught the meaning of all traffic markers (for example, Public Safety It's Back to School Time So Let's Talk Safety! a flashing "walk" sign is not an automatic "go" signal.) Make sure children look to the left. to the right and to the left again for moving vehicles before crossing the street. Teach children not to enter the street from between parked cars or from behind bushes or shrubs. Dalting into the street accounts for a significallt number of pedes- triall injuries among children ages 9 and under. Because drivers have a more dif- ficult time seeing pedestrians in bad weather, warn children to be extra careful. Be a good role model. Children imitate their parents alld model their behavior. Your children need you to tell them and show them how to be safe pedestrialls. School Bus Safety An estimated 24 million students ride school buses daily. MallY injuries occur when children are boarding or exiting because the blind spot extends approximately 10 feet around the bus, obstructing the view of the driver. Free Car Seat INSPECTIONS for Anoka County Residents Is your child under 8 years old and 4 '9"'1 If so, they MUST now be in a booster seat due to a new MN state law. Safe Kids Anoka County offers several car seat clinics throughout the year for Anoka County residents to have their children evaluated and car seats inspected by trained techni- cialls. Four out offive car seats are installed wrong! Get yours checked. Appointments are required. September 15 ,.~ 4:00 - 7:00 pm Coon Rapids Fire 3 Safe Kids, Anoka: Count')" Appointments: 763-767-6488 October 7 4:00 - 7:00 pm Fridley Fire Dept. Appointments: 763-572-3626 Children are not aware of this blind spot alld may mistakenly believe that if they can see the bus, the bus driver can see them. A child's behavior at the bus stop is an impOltallt aspect of school bus safety. While waiting for the bus, kids should stay out of the street. After getting off the bus, children should, if walking in front of the bus, cross at least 10 feet in front of it. While on the bus, children should observe the following safety rules: Remain seated at all times alld keep the aisles clear. Don't throw objects. Don't shout or distract the driver unnecessarily. Keep your head alld arms inside the bus at all times. Source: Safe Kids Worldwide It's Sti II Bi ke Weather - Don't Forget Your Helmet! Head injuries account for more thall 60% of bicycle-related deaths. more than two-thirds of bicycle-re- lated hospital admissions and about one-third of hospital emergency room visits for bicycling injuries. Wearing a properly fitted bicycle helmet will help reduce the chance of head injury by 85%. Universal use of bicycle helmets by children ages 4 to 15 could prevent between 135 alld 155 deaths, between 39,000 alld 45.000 head injuries, alld between 18,000 alld 55,000 scalp and face injuries allllually. 4 www.ci.ramsey.mn.us