Child Safety While Walking to School | New York Child Injury Prevention

Allowing your child to walk to school is the option that some parents take as a way for their children to get to school everyday. Often times children who walk to school walk in groups for safety purposes. Even though it is safer for children to walk in a group especially for avoiding kidnappings it is not always necessarily safe from other issues that may arise and cause injury or even death. Negligent drivers, uneven sidewalks, a hole in the road, and slippery sidewalks in the winter, are all dangers that are all too real for some parents.

The severity injuries often depends on the situation that caused the accident, the impact, the weight of the object, weight of the child and the position the child was standing in when they were injured. Injuries may range from a broken ankle to much more severe and dangerous injuries such as a traumatic brain injury or death.

While accidents are not always avoidable due negligence of others there are certain steps you child can take to increase their chances of safety while walking to school:

• Always look both ways before crossing a street. Look left-right-left and if the street is free of any oncoming traffic then proceed to cross the street.
• Always walk on a sidewalk. If a sidewalk is not available walk on the left side of the street facing oncoming traffic. This will allow a child to see any potential dangers.
• Cross streets at designated crosswalks.
• Watch out for uneven or broken sidewalks.
• Watch out for black ice on sidewalks if it is in the winter months.
• Watch out for any holes that may be present in the sidewalks or street.
  
• When available choose a route to walk that has school crossguards.
• Teach your child to avoid unfamiliar dogs and other animals.

Aside from teaching your child these safety rules for walking to school something you can do as a parent is come up with a safe route for your child to walk to school. This will not only allow your child to walk on a road that is free of any visible dangers but will also allow you to know the exact route your child will be walking on and where you should be able to find them when they are in transit.

Unfortunately in some situations injuries are unavoidable due to negligent drivers and homeowners. If your child was injured while walking to school in New York contact Frank J. Dito Jr. Staten Island child injury lawyer to discuss your child's rights. Call 718-979-4300 or fill out our online contact form.