October 2, 2000 - Cincinnati SAFE KIDS Walk This Way: An Initiative Focusing on Increasing Safety for Children
CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Safe Kids Coalition®, Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati, FedEx and the Cincinnati Police Department will hold an aggressive safety initiative focusing on school zone speed limit enforcement, pedestrian safety education and long-term environmental changes from Oct. 4 through 6, 2000.
Pedestrian injury is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 5 to 14. "Children are especially vulnerable to pedestrian death because they face traffic threats that exceed their cognitive, developmental, behavioral, physical and sensory abilities," says Anita Brentley, Cincinnati Safe Kids Coalition coordinator. "And parents often underestimate their child's pedestrian skills."
As part of the Cincinnati Safe Kids Walk This Way campaign to enforce school zone speed limits and help minimize children's risk of getting hit by cars, law enforcement officials will be ticketing drivers who are caught speeding this week in and around school zones where children are particularly vulnerable.
Cincinnati Safe Kids Coalition and FedEx will conduct a safety assessment of the streets surrounding Rockdale Academy and South Avondale at 7:15 a.m., on Oct. 4, as part of Walk Our Children to School Day, a nationwide community effort promoting pedestrian safety and walking as a physical activity.
The Rockdale event includes safety tips for the children and a proclamation made by Lieutenant Steve Luebbe, President of the Cincinnati Safe Kids Coalition and Ron Twitty, Assistant Chief, Cincinnati Police Department.
The South Avondale event includes safety tips and a proclamation by Mike Luders, senior manager, Fed Ex.
In addition to identifying key areas for safety improvement, Cincinnati Safe Kids Coalition will offer Risk Watch educational materials and videos for children and their parents. Rockdale and South Avondale will also receive funding to purchase additional health and safety materials.
Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati is a member of the National Safe Kids Campaign® and the lead organization for the Cincinnati Safe Kids Coalition. The coalition is a community-based grassroots initiative focused on the prevention of unintentional childhood injuries through public education, community programming, safety product distribution, legislation inaction, media outreach, local injury data collection and local program evaluation.
Contact Information
Pam Komar Lieberman,
pkomar@chmcc.org, 513-636-4420
