What Firefighters Can Teach Us About Roadway Safety - Keep Kids Alive!

Check out "Omaha's Bravest on Remarkable Streak."

Note that the key to having no fire fatalities for two years "has been built on better training and education of the public." This is certainly a lesson we all can take to heart in our roadway safety efforts.

Education is considered a key component of the 4 "Es" of traffic safety - Education, Engineering, Enforcement, and Emergency Response. However, oftentimes communities do all they can in the areas of enforcement and engineering, and problems like speeding, stop-sign running, not buckling up, and tailgating persist.

The challenge for all of us in traffic safety day after day after day is to educate the public about the behaviors that promote safe driving once one receives a license to drive. Education must be ongoing. It is much like the need for sports teams or musical groups to practice throughout the season, not just in preparation for the first performance. We can always get better, but not without ongoing education and practice.

Certainly campaigns exist, such as "Click It or Ticket," and "You Drink, You Drive, You Lose" that work to educate the public. These initiatives focus on the consequences for not doing what common sense tells us we should do. Yet, we need only pay attention to news accounts each day telling stories of loved ones whose lives are shattered as they fly out of a vehicle because they were not buckled up or who cause the death of another as a result of drinking and driving.

The companion to "consequential" education is to be pro-active in focusing upon the relational benefits of observing speed limits, stopping at stop signs and stop lights, buckling up, not drinking and driving, or engaging in any of the many behaviors associated with distracted driving. Two questions that come to mind in educating and engaging the public in these efforts are:

Who do you love?

Who loves you?

Put another way:

Who are you coming home to?

Who is coming home to you?

Preserving relationships is what good laws and our adherence to them is all about.

The State of North Dakota in promoting greater seat-belt use by pick-up drivers found that educational messages that are relationally-based have greater success in moving the positive behavior meter forward than does stressing negative consequences. Are we ready to do something positive to educate ourselves and our fellow citizens to reduce traffic deaths - today, next week, in the month ahead, in the next year?

If so, all you need to begin mobilizing, whether in your own home or neighborhood, or in your entire community, is waiting to be downloaded for free at Keep Kids Alive - Start Now.

"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
Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 - A Non-Profit "For Action" Organization 501(c)(3)
Tom@kkad25.org
www.KeepKidsAliveDrive25.org

8-Year-Old "Traffic Engineer" Helps Keep Kids Alive & Wins Science Fair

With a little inspiration from "Keep Kids Alive Drive 25," 8 year old Alexis, a student at Dale Mabry Elementary in Tampa, conducted a traffic safety education study that placed first in her school's science fair.

Alexis reports, "Everyone stayed at or below the speed limit of 25 mph. Only one person went over the speed limit. When I put out the sign, there were big changes. One change was that most of the people I was radaring, put their brakes on when they saw me, the sign, or another car. I was really happy to see that. I hope this will continue so that less children and adults don't get injured. I plan to go to my neighbors and tell them about your campaign (Keep Kids Alive Drive 25). Maybe they will tell their neighbors and so on and so on until the entire world knows about your campaign."

Learn more about how you can support Alexis in making a difference in preventing needless deaths and injuries by visiting www.KeepKidsAliveDrive25.org.

In safety,

Tom Everson

Keep Kids Alive Drive 25

Stop Playing in the Street - Keep Kids Alive!

A recent phone call prompts this blog. A resident was concerned about the safety of children playing in the street since this is a common occurrence in hisneighborhood. Speaking to parents directly has done little good.

The number one parenting tip from Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 is to not allow children to play in the street - it is not a playground and puts both children and motorists at risk. No motorist wants to be behind the wheel and hit a child.

With this in mind, what are your thoughts about drafting "Stop Playing in the Street" ordinances in your town? Please offer your comments, and please be civil in doing so.

Thanks!

In safety,

Tom Everson

Keep Kids Alive Drive 25

Stop! Take 3 To See - Keep Kids Alive!

The reality behind this recent headline in the Denver Post begs we as motorists to take Stop Signs at face value . See Pregnant woman hit by car, baby does not survive.

Studies from Safe Kids Worldwide indicate that almost 90% of motorists do not correctly observe stop signs. The result? 200 pedestrian deaths and 17,000 injuries each year. Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 is committed to educating drivers about how to correctly stop at stop signs through their Stop! Take 3 To See campaign. Find out more at Stop! Take 3 To See. Contact us at kkad25@kkad25.org to start and educational campaign in your town.

Your comments are welcome.

“Don’t let the 2 minutes you ‘save’ be the last 2 minutes of someone’s life.” David Townsend (Tia’s dad - Tia died when struck by a motorist who ran a stop sign while she walked with a friend in a marked crosswalk)

In safety,

Tom Everson

Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 - A Non-Profit "For Action" Organization 501(c)(3)

www.KeepKidsAliveDrive25.org

World Wide Candle Lighting - Keeping Memories Alive

December 12th -Join the The Compassionate Friends
Worldwide Candle Lighting in Memory of all Children Who Have Died

Excitement has been building as the fourteenth Worldwide Candle Lighting December 12, 2010 approaches. The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting unites family and friends around the globe in lighting candles for one hour to honor and remember children who have died at any age from any cause. As candles are lit at 7 p.m. local time, creating a virtual wave of light, hundreds of thousands of persons commemorate and honor the memory of children in a way that transcends all ethnic, cultural, religious, and political boundaries. Learn more about how to get involved at The Compassionate Friends.
A vital piece of the mission of Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 is support of families who have experienced the death of a loved one due to a traffic incident. Visit our on-line memory wall at "Run to Remember." Should you know of a loved one you would like to add to our memory wall and include in our 2011 "Run to Remember", please e-mail Tom@kkad25.org.
Our family looks forward to joining yours in the Worldwide Candle Lighting this coming Sunday, December 12th.
Lives Will Be Saved!
Big News from Our Friends at Kids and Cars – see No More Backing Blind

“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
Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 - A Non-Profit "For Action" Organization 501(c)(3)
402-334-1391
That children may live, remember to make your year-end tax-deductible donation today at Donate to Keep Kids Alive. Checks are also accepted. Please send to:
Keep Kids Alive Drive 25
12418 C Street
Omaha, NE 68144
Your generous giving keeps kids living.