Keep Kids Alive Drive 25

What is Keep Kids Alive Drive 25©?

Keep Kids Alive Drive 25© is a safety campaign targeting observance of the residential speed limit. In most towns and cities throughout the U.S. the residential speed limit is 25 mph. Thus the slogan, “Keep Kids Alive Drive 25©”.

In the Village of Sleepy Hollow the residential Speed Limit is 25 M.P.H.

The goal is simply to remind each of us to check our speed and slow down as needed. In short, Keep Kids Alive Drive 25© is an invitation to take personal Responsibility for our driving behavior. Keep Kids Alive Drive 25© is a friendly reminder to slow down in a fast-paced world.

10 Ways to Say, “I Love You” to Help Keep Your Child Safe

  1. Always make sure they are buckled up. Remember, show your care for others by wearing your seat belt and expecting others to do the same. Do the right thing.
  2. Make sure your young child is in an approved safety seat or booster seat. Be sure the seat is properly installed and that your child is safely buckled in.
  3. Cross the street with your child until the age of 10. (Children’s hearing is not fully developed until then, so they may not hear or notice oncoming traffic.)
  4. Teach your child to cross the street correctly. Always use the nearest crosswalk when available. And remember, STOP! TAKE 3 TO SEE©
    This means:
    1. Stop completely at curbside.
    2. Look left, look right, look left again (and listen, too).
    3. Make sure the road is clear before crossing.

    This is also the way for we adults to obey stop signs. In addition, teach your children to follow these same steps when approaching a driveway or intersection. Teach them to be aware that a car may be backing out or that a car may be approaching an intersection from any direction. STOP! TAKE 3 TO SEE©

  5. Expect your child to wear the proper helmet and pads when riding a bike, scooter, Skateboard, or using skates. Helmets should exceed safety standards.
    Look for an ASTM, Snell, ANSI or CPSC certification sticker. A simple rule for parenting – NO HELMET (or elbow, wrist, and kneepads for skateboards, skates, and scooters) NO WHEELS! Enforce this rule at all times to help your child learn good safety habits.
  6. Set limits for your child. Make sure they have safe places to play. Do not let them play in the street.
  7. Know where your child is. Be outside watching younger children – 7 and under.
  8. Make sure your child checks in with you on a regular basis (every hour or so) when at a friend’s house. This is important for children of all ages (teenagers, too!).
  9. Know the parents of all children in your neighborhood. Support each other in helping to keep all kids safe – in yards, homes, cars, and on bikes, scooters, and skates.
  10. Make sure you follow the rules of the road. Buckle up! Drive no faster than the speed limit-slower if needed. Allow one vehicle length for each 10mph between you and the car in front of you (30 mph is 3 lengths, 50 is 5) Pay attention to stop signs and traffic signals.

Remember, a pedestrian hit by a vehicle traveling 30 mph is 3 times more likely to die than one hit by a vehicle traveling 25 mph. (General Estimates – Police Reported Accidents).

The street in front of your home is over twice as dangerous as highways when it comes to number of deaths per miles driven. (Federal Highway Administration).

Tips for Caring

The number one action we can each take so that any child of ours will not become an traffic accident victim on neighborhood streets is to simply say, and enforce, no playing in the street. Please do not to use cell phones while driving. This poses a hazard to kids (and, in fact, all motorists and pedestrians), both inside and outside your vehicle, due to the potential for distractions. If you must contact someone, please decide to be courteous and cautious by pulling into a parking lot to make your call.

Family: Take Time to Have Fun!

In the midst of creating safe environment in which our children can thrive, remember to take time out for fun. Every family has the opportunity to create rituals and traditions that help family members to enjoy each other’s company.

Take time out for:

  • A family outing – to the park, a bike-ride, a picnic, a meal out.
  • A game night at home – without the TV.
  • Tossing the football or baseball around the front yard.
  • Reading stories together before bedtime. These are fun, and necessary, rituals that serve to bind us together as family.

Check Your Back!

Before backing out of any driveway, check to make sure children are not playing behind your car. Also check to make sure children are not running or riding their bikes down the sidewalk.

Bike Safety

When your children ride their bikes, be sure they wear a helmet (and that it is fastened correctly). Get your children into the helmet habit when they are young. Make it a hard and fast rule – no helmet, no bike riding. Dare to care, even if your child (no matter what age) puts up a fuss. And, as an adult, be sure to set a good example by wearing your bike helmet.

Safe Walk to School

Children will be walking to school. Make sure they have a safe walk to and from school by following these guidelines from the Nebraska Safety and Health Council.

  • Look for the most direct route to school with the fewest street crossings.
  • Walk the route with children until they demonstrate good safety awareness (Stop, Look, and Listen before crossing).
  • Teach children to obey traffic signs. Be sure to stop, look, and listen before crossing – even if you have a walk signal at a stoplight.
  • Teach children to cross the street at a corner or crosswalk.
  • Teach children to walk, not run, to cross the street, and to listen to crossing guards.
  • Teach children to take extra precaution when weather is bad – when visibility is poor.
  • Put these tips into action and have a safe, healthy, and happy school year.

Where Are You?

As a parent, one of the most important things you can do is to pay attention to your children. One way to do this is to monitor your child’s whereabouts.
You can do this by:

  • Keeping a watchful eye on your children. Keep them in your sight. An accident can happen in a matter of seconds.
  • Make sure you let your child(ren) know what the boundaries are. Be sure you know where they are playing and whom they are playing with. Create safe spaces for them to play in your yard. Work with your neighbors to be sure you have consistent rules for behavior and safety throughout your neighborhood.
  • Be sure to walk your child(ren) across the street. Teach them to Stop, Look, and Listen! before crossing.
  • Remember, oftentimes children are hit by cars because they are not being monitored. As parents we must first do our job – watch out for our children. And Remember! Each of us is responsible for our own actions behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle. We each need to “watch out” for children at play who may not be paying attention to us. Each of us must do our part to make Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 work.

Trademark

Keep Kids Alive Drive 25© is a trademark.

Keep Kids Alive Drive 25, A Non-Profit Organization, P.O.Box 45563 Omaha, Nebraska, 68145 used with permission. No other entities may use this mark without prior permission.

For information, call 402-334-1391 or visit http://www.keepkidsalivedrive25.org/

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