How to Keep Your Child Safe While Walking to School

All Practice Areas

A sizable percentage of children get to school by walking, particularly in urban and suburban areas where students often live close to their school. However, children who walk to school face the constant risk of being injured in a pedestrian accident. If your child gets to school by walking, you need to understand the potential dangers of pedestrian accidents and what you can do to keep your kids safer. 

 

Safe Pedestrian Behaviors to Teach Your Kids

You can help protect your child if they walk to school by teaching them pedestrian safety tips, such as:

• Always walk on the sidewalk, if one is available; otherwise, walk as close to the edge of the roadway as possible on the left side of the road, facing oncoming traffic
• Always cross the road at intersections or marked crosswalks, and make sure to look both ways for oncoming traffic even if you have the signal to cross
• Obey all traffic signals and instructions from crossing guards
• Never assume that an approaching vehicle will give the right of way
• Wear bright clothing or have reflective tape on your backpack; if walking at night, carry a flashlight to make yourself more visible to drivers

When you decide to let your child walk to school, you should also take the time to walk the route with your child. This way, you can reinforce safe pedestrian behaviors and show your child where it is safest to walk or to cross the street. Ideally, you should get together with other parents whose children walk to school so that your kids can walk in a group or buddy system, which will help make the children more visible to motorists. 

Child Pedestrian Accident Statistics

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one in five children under the age of 15 who are killed in auto accidents are pedestrians. In addition, Safe Kids Worldwide reports that, in one recent year, there were a total of 359 child fatalities in pedestrian accidents and 15,011 cases of injuries to children in pedestrian accidents. This equals seven fatalities and 289 non-fatal injuries per week. The months with the highest rate of child pedestrian deaths were October, March, July, and September. Sixty-nine percent of child pedestrian fatalities occurred in the roadway at a non-intersection location, while 16 percent of fatal accidents occurred within the intersection. 

What Are Your Family’s Rights If Your Child Was Injured While Walking to School?

If your child was injured in a pedestrian accident while walking to school, your family may have the right to pursue financial recovery for losses that your child and your family have suffered, including:

• Medical treatment and rehabilitation expenses
• Costs of long-term care, such as home health services or special education services
• Physical pain and anguish
• Emotional trauma and distress
• Physical disabilities caused by injuries
• Permanent scarring or disfigurement

Families of children who are killed in pedestrian accidents may also be entitled to recover for funeral/burial expenses, emotional suffering, and loss of their child’s society.

Contact a Rochelle Park Personal Injury Lawyer to Discuss Your Pedestrian Accident Case in New Jersey

Did you or a loved one sustain serious injuries due to a pedestrian accident in New Jersey? Don’t let the medical bills pile up while you wait for the negligent party or their insurance company to do the right thing. Right now, you need an aggressive personal injury attorney on your side, fighting to get you the compensation you need, want, and deserve. The skilled attorneys at The Epstein Law Firm represent clients injured because of pedestrian accidents in Jersey City, Union City, Bayonne, Hoboken, and throughout New Jersey. Call (201) 380-7687 or fill out our online contact form to schedule a free consultation about your case. We have an office conveniently located at 340 West Passaic St., Rochelle Park, NJ 07762.

The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.