(2005-03-11) Washington State to Distribute Life-Saving Reflectors to Students

Washington State DOT will give 1,000 Pedestrian Safety TALMU reflectors to schoolchildren at Safe Routes to Schools event in Olympia on March 22, 2005.

OLYMPIA – On Tuesday, March 22, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will hold a “Safe Routes to Schools” event in Olympia. WSDOT will distribute 1,000 TALMU pedestrian reflectors from Pedestrian Safety to schoolchildren. The event is hosted by WSDOT and Feet First, a Puget Sound area walking advocacy group. WSDOT officials and state legislators will attend. Kim Pasanen, President of Pedestrian Safety would like to see reflectors distributed to all schoolchildren in America, as is done in many European countries.

Safe Routes to Schools (www.saferoutestoschools.org) has this to say: “Did you walk or bike to school when you were young? Thirty years ago over 66% of all children walked to school (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Walking or biking to school gives children a taste of freedom and responsibility, allows them to enjoy the fresh air and the opportunity to get to know their neighborhood, while arriving at school alert, refreshed and ready to start their day. Yet most American children are denied this experience --today, only 13% of America\\\\\\\'s children walk or bike to school (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).”

Each year in the United States, about 5,000 pedestrians are killed in accidents involving motor vehicles. For every pedestrian killed, 14 more are injured. According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) walking is 36 times more dangerous than driving and 300 times more dangerous than flying.

A large number of pedestrian fatalities result from a driver not being able to see a pedestrian in the dark. It has been estimated in Europe that about half of all pedestrian deaths during dark hours would have been avoided if the pedestrian had been wearing a pedestrian safety reflector. Pedestrian reflectors have been used in the Nordic countries since 1955, and are still largely unknown in the US. They swing freely at the end of a cord attached to clothing.

A reflector of this type makes a pedestrian visible to a motorist five times farther away, giving the motorist ample time to react. They have been proven in Finnish studies to prevent about half of all potential pedestrian fatalities at night. They are so effective that their use was made mandatory in Finland as of January 2003 by all pedestrians after dark.

About Us: Pedestrian Safety was founded in 2002 to make pedestrian reflectors available in America. The website, www.pedsafe.com, offers research and information about reflectors.

Contact Info: Kim Pasanen
Pedestrian Safety
208.882.1604
info@pedsafe.com
www.pedsafe.com

Additional:

Company: Pedestrian Safety

Country: All Countries

Contact: Kim Pasanen

Website: www.pedsafe.com

Bus E-Mail: info@pedsafe.com

Phone: 208.882.1604