Walk to School Day -- 10.6.2010
COLUMBUS PUBLIC HEALTH – Press Release
FOR WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6
Health Commissioner Urges Pedestrians and Drivers to be Alert|
Education is Key in Creating Safer Walking Environments
WHO:
Columbus Public Health’s Safe Kids Central Ohio
FedEx
Eakin Elementary School
Dr. Teresa Long, Columbus Public Health Commissioner
Columbus Division of Police
Columbus Division of Fire
WHAT:
Columbus Public Health’s Safe Kids Central Ohio Coalition, FedEx, and leaders from Franklin County Board of Health and Westerville Communications will work with children at Eakin Elementary School, to advocate for safer walking environments for children on October 6, International Walk to School Day. The students will learn about safe ways to cross the street and how to watch for distracted drivers. Research shows one out of every six drivers in schools zones is distracted.
Nationwide, Safe Kids USA will hold more than 600 International Walk to School Day activities as part of the Safe Kids Walk This Way pedestrian safety program. For the eleventh year, Safe Kids coalitions are teaming up with hundreds of FedEx volunteers to teach children how to be safer pedestrians as they walk to and from school and raise awareness around specific pedestrian dangers or issues in their community
WHEN:
2:45 p.m. October 6, 2010
WHERE:
Eakin Elementary School
3774 Eakin Rd., Columbus, OH
WHY:
In Franklin County from 2005-2009, 19 children aged 0-14 were killed as pedestrians in crashes involving motor vehicles and 631 children were injured. Every year in the U.S. more than 244 children ages 14 and under die nationwide from pedestrian-related injuries and more than 13,000 children go to the emergency room. Road traffic injuries are the second leading cause of death among children ages 10 to 14 worldwide. In the U.S. between 2000 and 2009, the number of child pedestrian fatalities has decreased by 49 percent, with the 4- to 7-year-old age group showing the largest decrease (58 percent). Safe Kids Central Ohio Coalition activities are designed to help children walk safely all year round.
Safe Kids Central Ohio works to prevent accidental childhood injury, the leading killer of children 14 and under. Its members include Columbus Public Health, Franklin County Board of Health, Westerville Communications and many more. Safe Kids Central Ohio is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing accidental injury. Safe Kids Central Ohio was founded in 1988 and is lead by Columbus Public Health.
For more information, visit www.safekids.org or safekidscentralohio.org.