It appears New York City is setting the bar high in terms of helping to reduce instances of children being struck by vehicles while walking to and from school. 
Our Queens personal injury attorneys understand that a new report indicates the rate of child pedestrian injuries during school travel hours dropped by nearly 45 percent following the city’s implementation of certain traffic changes near schools.
Some of the noted changes including the installation of more speed bumps, traffic lights and islands in wide streets. Additionally, digital signs posted in areas of high child food traffic offers motorists a reminder of how fast they are traveling.
While we applaud the progress, we recognize our work is far from over, considering drivers who are distracted, drunk or reckless still pose significant risks to our children as they navigate their way to and from classes each day.
The study, conducted by professors at Columbia Medical Center in New York City and set to be published in this month’s journal Pediatrics, aimed to analyze the effectiveness of the Safe Routes to School program. This is a national initiative that has offered up more than $600 million across the country to states and local governments in an effort to improve streets, sidewalks and traffic patterns near schools. A progress report from the summer of 2011 showed that nearly 10,500 schools in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. were participating, with nearly 5 million children affected.
In New York, that money was funneled into a target of about 125 schools that had high rates of traffic injuries among children. When the program first started back in 2009, just 30 of those schools had any of the suggested safety measures in place. Even with those minimal measures, kids attending those schools were being injured less frequently in pedestrian accidents than students who attended schools where no such action was taken.
During 2009 and 2010, after the measures had been implemented, the researchers discovered the traffic injury rate among school children went from 8 for every 10,000 to 4.4 for every 10,000.
Researchers say they want to conduct a nationwide study to see whether similar rates are discovered elsewhere.
There was an urgency to implementing the safety programs because there were simultaneous efforts by anti-obesity advocates to get kids walking or riding a bike to school in order to cut down on obesity rates. But many parents were afraid to allow that due to the safety concerns.
It’s worth noting that despite the improvements, the dangers haven’t been eliminated entirely. Vigilance is still of the utmost importance. The National Crime Prevention Association encourages parents to take the following steps:
- Map out a safe route to and from school or the bus stop with your children and walk it with them a few times. If possible, help them learn to avoid busy roads, intersections, vacant lots and construction areas.
- Teach children to follow all traffic signals and safety rules.
- Encourage your children to travel with other kids.
The New York City Law Offices of Nicholas Rose, PLLC offers free consultations. Call 1-877-313-7673.
Additional Resources:
Safer Roads Near Schools May Mean Fewer Kids Struck by Cars, Jan. 14, 2013, By Amy Norton, U.S. News & World Report
More Blog Entries:
New York Traffic Fatality Prevention Laws Ahead of the Curve, Jan. 22, 2013, New York City Car Accident Lawyer Blog
