New London — According to a local survey released today by Connecticut SAFE
KIDS, a program of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, 100% of motor vehicles in school
zones exceed the speed limit in New London. The prevalence of speeding around schools,
where safety measures exist, suggests that drivers are even more neglectful in residential areas.
Pedestrian injury is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related
death among children ages 5 to 14. Motor vehicle crashes account for
approximately 80 percent of all childhood pedestrian deaths with children ages 5
– 9 at highest risk. Children are especially vulnerable to pedestrian death
because they face traffic threats that exceed their cognitive, developmental,
behavioral, physical and sensory abilities. Speed also plays a critical role in
pedestrian injury.
To address this important issue, FedEx Express has joined Connecticut SAFE
KIDS as a program sponsor to launch a widespread pedestrian safety
initiative, SAFE KIDS Walk This Way. Its goals will be to help educate
children, parents and motorists about the importance of pedestrian safety. As
part of this effort, FedEx Express employee volunteers, community leaders,
parents and schools are participating in Walk Our Children to School Day
and will form pedestrian safety task forces to make streets more walkable by
implementing traffic calming measures.
As a response to the survey, SAFE KIDS, with support from law enforcement,
has announced an aggressive campaign to enforce speed limits in school zones in
New London from October 4-6, 2000.
The results of were based on an analysis of vehicles traveling in two school
zones in New London. Local law enforcement observed vehicle speeds
using speed-measuring devices during 30 minute time periods before and after
school, the busiest traffic times for children who walk to school. A total of
264 vehicle speeds were captured.
The findings revealed that 100% of drivers speed in areas where
children most frequently walk:
- 100% of drivers were traveling over the speed limit;
- 55% of drivers were traveling at least 10 mph above speed limit
Speed is a factor in 10 percent of traffic fatalities among children. The
faster a vehicle is traveling when it strikes a pedestrian, the more severe and
potentially fatal the injury will be. If a vehicle is traveling 30 mph and hits
a child, the risk of death is 40 percent. For a vehicle traveling 40 mph, the
risk doubles to 80 percent.
"The results of this survey are a red flag for families," said
Eileen Henzy, MPH Coordinator of Connecticut SAFE KIDS, "If cars speed in
areas most sacred for children, we know that child pedestrians are at
risk on our community streets. It’s time to turn this trend around."
As part of the program entitled SAFE KIDS Walk this Way, FedEx
employees in nearly 40 cities joined today with local SAFE KIDS coalitions to
conduct pedestrian safety events at local schools in celebration of Walk Our
Children to School Day. As part of the effort, they also conducted
community-wide assessments of the streets surrounding their schools.
"At FedEx, we take safety very seriously. As a vital part of the
communities we serve, FedEx wants to make sure that our children and motorists
understand the importance of pedestrian safety," said Michael Shannon,
Connecticut Regional Manager. "Keeping children safe while walking to
school, to a friend’s house or just around the corner should be a concern for
everyone. That’s why FedEx is pledging our support to raise awareness of
pedestrian safety here in New London.
The campaign also includes an aggressive effort to enforce school zone speed
limits and help minimize children’s risk of getting hit by cars. This week,
law enforcement officials will be ticketing drivers who are caught speeding this
week in and around school zones where children are particularly vulnerable.
"Drivers need to be aware that exceeding speed limits not only puts our
children at risk, but is against the law and will not be tolerated," said
Officer Ed Hedge of the New London Police Department.
Additionally, Connecticut SAFE KIDS, announced the creation of a task force
that will identify key improvements vital to child pedestrian safety, forge
relationships with city and county officials to participate in the task force,
and work to promote the enactment of recommendations.
For a copy of the national survey conducted by the National SAFE KIDS
Campaign, entitled Child Pedestrians at Risk in America: A National Survey of
Speeding in School Zones, please visit
www.safekids.org or call (202) 662.0600.
