Brain Injury Association of New York State

Pedestrian Safety

Always look left -right-left before crossing any street or intersection

Scope of the Problem

50,000 children are hit each year, often receiving serious brain injuries.
In 1996, 5,412 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States.
On average, a pedestrian is killed in a traffic crash every 97 minutes.
More than two thirds of the 1996 pedestrian fatalities were males.
Nearly one-half of all pedestrian fatalities occurred on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
Turning cars are especially dangerous because drivers are concentrating on making turns and may not notice you. Always check for turning cars before stepping into the street.

Prevention

When crossing the street, children should hold an adults hand and cross at designated areas.
Children should never cross the street between parked cars.
Teach your child to always look left, right, then left again before crossing and to watch for turning cars.
If no sidewalk is present and it is necessary to walk in the roadway, children should walk on the left side of the road, facing traffic.
When walking after dark, reflective materials should be worn.
Fence-off areas near streets or roads where small children may play.

Children

Children under the age of 10 years old are at risk because they have:
- Only one third the peripheral vision of adults.
- Difficulty locating the source of sounds.
- A smaller size, making it difficult for them to see vehicles and for drivers to see them.
- Difficulty "seeing" a situation from another persons viewpoint.
- Difficulty judging the speed and distance of cars, trains, buses, etc.
- Poor search behavior.
- An unwillingness to change from a direct route even if it is dangerous.
- The ability to only think about one thing at a time.
- Lack of cause and effect thinking and high distractibility.
- Parents and adults over-estimating their road crossing ability.
- Lack of knowledge, skills and experience to cope safely with the traffic environment.
Pedestrian injuries are the leading cause of trauma death for children ages 5-9.
Children ages one to six are more likely to die in a traffic accident than from any other cause.
Most preschoolers are injured near their home or on their own street.
Most injuries happen between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m.
Twice as many boys are injured than girls.