Thursday, January 20, 2011

Death By Walking Around - Keep Kids Alive!

The latest report from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) indicates that 1,891 pedestrians died as a result of motor vehicle incidents in the first 6 months of 2010. If the trend continued throughout the year almost 3,800 people would lose their life via the act of walking around - something we may well take for granted.

Keep Kids Alive Drive 25® has worked with many families who have experienced firsthand the death of a loved one who was walking around. These include:

8 year-old Shaye Martin, hit by a speeding motorist in a school zone while walking on the sidewalk to school

5 year-old Nicolas Riconosciuto, hit while walking in his neighborhood the first week of kindergarten.

11 year-old Tia Townsend, walking in a marked crosswalk with a friend, when struck by a motorist who pulled around a vehicle that has stopped to let them cross safely.

10 year-old Sierra Feaster, struck by a speeding motorist while crossing in a marked crosswalk in a school zone

For their families, and many more, 1 death by walking around is one too many, as it would be for any of us.

Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 is committed to pedestrian safety as we live our mission every day of the year. Two key components make up our commitment. These are:

Stop! Take 3 To See®- an educational initiative that targets observance of stop signs and stop lights on the part of motorists, and also works to teach children of all ages how to cross the street correctly, and safely. Click Stop! Take 3 To See®.

Keep Kids Alive Drive 25® and Be Aware! Drive With Care® initiatives work to educate and engage motorists in doing their part to keep pedestrians safe. First by observing the speed limit or driving even slower when pedestrians/cyclists are present, and secondly by being observant of all that is going on around them while driving - this means saying no to any and all behaviors that lead to distracted driving (cell phones, eating, grooming, etc.).

Join us as we work to reach the goal of "target zero" - that is, no deaths as a result of motor vehicle incidents. It is the only acceptable goal. Help mobilize your community, neighborhood, school, business, or civic organization to be the solution to the traffic safety problems we ourselves cause - speeding, tailgating, running stop signs and stop lights, not buckling up, driving while intoxicated or intexticated. Get started by visiting www.KeepKidsAliveDrive25.org today.

"Don't let the 2 minutes you 'save' be the last 2 minutes of someone's life." David Townsend (Tia's dad)

In safety,
Tom Everson
Executive Director/Founder
Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 - A Non-Profit "For Action" Organization 501(c)(3)
www.KeepKidsAliveDrive25.org


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