Washington, U.S.A. — As summer draws to a close and the classroom bell rings in the new school year, 55 million children across the United States will head back to school. With 13 percent of those school children typically walking or biking to school, AAA warns drivers to be especially vigilant for pedestrians during before- and after-school hours.

The afternoon hours are particularly dangerous for walking children – over the last decade, nearly one-third of child pedestrian fatalities occurred between 3 and 7 p.m.

“More than 1,200 children lost their lives during these after-school hours between 2000 and 2010,” cautioned Jennifer Huebner-Davidson, manager, Traffic Safety Advocacy, “and although we’ve seen a steady decrease in the number of tragedies each year, it’s important to remember that one death is one too many.”

AAA offers six ways to keep kids safe this school year:

AAA’s “School’s Open – Drive Carefully” awareness campaign was launched in 1946 in an effort to prevent school-related child pedestrian traffic crashes—helping kids to live fulfilling, injury-free lives.

In addition to the campaign, AAA has teamed up with Richard Scarry’s “Busytown Mysteries” to help keep children safe. Download coloring pages, play games and watch car seat safety videos at SafeSeats4Kids.AAA.com.

As North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 53 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com.

AAA news releases, high resolution images, broadcast-quality video, fact sheets and podcasts are available at NewsRoom.AAA.com

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New York, U.S.A. — Summer is a time for barbecues, beach, sun and safety. While the kids may be enjoying their summer vacation, it’s up to the parents to make sure their homes are safe, inside and out, for children of all ages.

Here are some simple steps to help protect children against potential home hazards.

Here comes the sun

Infants six months or younger should be kept out of direct sunlight. Generously apply sunscreen with at least SPF 15 to all children over six months, and choose sunglasses that provide 100 percent UVA and UVB protection. Try to limit sun exposure during the sun’s peak hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., when rays are strongest. Provide shade for your backyard with decorative umbrellas, tents or canopies.

Beat the heat

As the heat temperature rises make sure children stay hydrated. Children should not be out in the heat for more than 30 minutes without a glass of water. To prevent dehydration, kids should drink 12 ounces of fluid 30 minutes before an activity begins and take mandatory fluid breaks. Bring them inside for at least 15 minutes for water and snacks.

Start up the grill

Nothing says summer like outdoor grilling. Curious, hungry children will be drawn to the smell and sight of the grill, so be sure to keep them at least three feet away from the barbecue, especially when it is lit and for hours afterwards, when it is still hot to the touch. Never use a gas or charcoal grill in an enclosed area, as carbon monoxide could be produced.

Enjoy the view

It’s always nice to let the beauty of summer into your home by drawing up window blinds and shades, just be sure to prevent accidents by using only cordless window coverings in homes with young children. Window coverings made prior to 2001 may have looped pull cords that pose a potential strangulation risk to small children.

Inner cords running through the slats of pre-2001 window blinds can also be potentially hazardous, because they lack cord stops that prevent children from forming loops when pulling on the cord. The Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) urges parents to replace window coverings purchased before 2001 with today’s safer, cordless designs. For more information, visit www.windowcoverings.org.

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With the recent snowfall beckoning skiers and snowboarders, the SnowSport Safety Foundation (SSF) commemorates the death of its founder’s daughter by launching the next phase of research and reporting on California mountain resort safety.

Released one year ago, the California Mountain Resort Safety Report was the first study of its kind based on information collected from unannounced site surveys of on-slope safety practices at 25 California mountain resorts during the 2009-2010 snow season. The second phase of the safety practice research and reporting will mark the sixth anniversary of Jessica Gregorie’s death on February 5, 2006, at Alpine Meadows mountain resort in Lake Tahoe, California.

This phase also will include unannounced surveys at randomly-selected resorts to update the information collected on safety practices and determine if the selected resorts have made improvements in those areas specifically outlined in the initial Report.

“Devastating accidents like Jessica’s and the one that claimed the life of a 7-year-old boy at Lake Tahoe’s Sugar Bowl resort this past December beg for a continued focus on improving safety and accident prevention,” stated SSF’s Chief Research Officer Dick Penniman.

This research and reporting effort will include revisiting up to eight of the 25 resorts and reassessing the same practices surveyed in the first phase of the study. The survey’s focus will be on identifying improvements made in safety practices, particularly new or more extensively implemented injury-prevention measures that have been adopted.

Examples of these practices include types and placement of signs and warning markers; fixed obstacle padding and fencing, traffic and intersection management;, types and placement of fencing and other separation methods and materials; and trail intersection and terrain-park design and management.

“The absence of standards, as well as the inconsistency of existing safety practices, puts skiers and snowboarders in harm’s way and at risk for severe injury,” stated Penniman. “Without any regulations or documented standards to guide them, each resort chooses its own safety policies and practices and monitors its own compliance.

There is no reporting of injury frequency and severity and there are no measures of injury prevention effectiveness.  At this point in time, the resort safety surveys are the only way to measure the nature and extent of on-slope safety practices and injury prevention efforts. Through SSF’s research, we hope to develop best practice standards that resorts will embrace.”

Upon completing the random surveys, SSF will compare the data from selected ski resorts against the data collected during the 2009-2010 snow season to determine if safety improvements have been made. The information will be made available to the public.

“The SnowSport Safety Foundation is the only organization of its kind,” noted SSF’s founder Dr. Dan Gregorie.  The Foundation’s research is an apt tribute to Jessica’s life by helping to prevent avoidable injuries and deaths of snow sport enthusiasts like my daughter.”

“The Foundation’s goal has always been to conduct research and analyses as well as provide information and education in support of improving safety and preventing injury,” explained Penniman.  “We are committed to providing snow sport enthusiasts with reliable information about ski resort safety practices, so they can make informed decisions for themselves and their families about where they can enjoy the safest possible experience.

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Winter has barely started, yet already more than 10 incidents involving falls through ice, several of them fatal, have been reported in the news media. Experts blame unseasonably warm temperatures and alternate freezing and thawing for the dangerous conditions.

“We urge everyone to stay off all frozen bodies of water,” said Kim Burgess, executive director of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance. “The perceived recreational benefit is simply not worth the risk to yourself or your loved ones.”

“It’s also important to prevent pets from roaming onto ice,” adds NDPA Board Member Gerald M. Dworkin, an aquatics safety and water rescue consultant at Lifesaving Resources LLC. “More than half of ice emergency 911 calls are triggered by people trying to save a pet who fell through ice. Never attempt to rescue an animal yourself, but rather, call 911.”

“Ice seldom freezes uniformly,” explains Dworkin. “It will be thinner when it has formed over moving water and where it surrounds partially submerged objects.” He adds that snow-covered ice and ice that has thawed and refrozen is not as strong as new, clear, hard ice.

Dworkin offers the following self-rescue and response tips:

If you fall through ice -

• Do not try to climb out immediately. Instead, kick to get horizontal in the water with your legs behind your torso. Then, try to pull yourself forward onto solid ice.
• Once out of the water, roll away and avoid standing until you are several body lengths away from the ice break.
• A set of ice picks is an ideal safety tool for rescuers and victims alike. When the ice pick is jammed on the ice, the retractable sheath exposes the pick. This allows a rescuer to crawl out to the victim, or gives a victim the opportunity to crawl his way out of the ice hole.

When trying to rescue a person who has fallen through ice -

• Call or have someone call 911 first.
• Try to improvise a buoyant throwing assist, such as an empty jug with a line attached.
• If going onto ice to reach a victim is unavoidable, use a device to distribute the rescuer’s weight over a wide area.
• Use a reaching assist to prevent the rescuer from being dragged into the water by the victim.

“All first responders should be trained and equipped for ice rescue,” says Dworkin. “Ice rescue suits, ice picks, water rescue rope, and an animal control stick are the minimum equipment needed.”

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The holidays mean food, family, and friends for many Illinoisans, but it also means snow, sleet, ice, and fog on the roads for travelers. No matter how many years of driving experience you have under your belt, winter weather never fails to present a wide variety of challenges.

“Understanding how to drive safely in harsh weather conditions can protect you, your passengers and your vehicle,” said Bob Gallo, AARP Illinois State Director. ”Like many Illinoisans, I will be traveling this holiday season as well – and I definitely plan to take a few moments to review these tips and hope others do as well so we can all arrive at our destinations safely.”

AARP offers the following tips for staying safe on winter roads:

1. Winterize your vehicle to make sure your brakes, wipers, defroster, headlights and heater are all working properly.
2. Stop gently to avoid skidding. If your wheels start to lock up, ease off the brake.
3. Turn on your headlights to increase your visibility to other motorists, and keep your lights clean and free of ice or debris.
4. In unfavorable driving conditions, reduce your speed and increase the distance between your car and the one in front of you. Remember that it takes more time to stop on icy roads.
5. Stay alert. Look ahead to give yourself more time to react safely to situations without suddenly braking or skidding.
6. Before driving, clear all snow and ice from your vehicle’s hood, windows and roof.
7. Use snow or all-season tires or chains for better traction and smoother slowing. Remember that even with snow tires, you should use extra caution while driving in inclement weather — no tires allow you to drive on snow or ice at normal speeds.
8. Take extra precautions on bridges, overpasses, and shaded areas, which can freeze first, and remain icy longer than roadways. A road on which ice and snow are completely frozen is pretty slippery, even though it provides more traction than a road with melting ice.
9. In wet driving conditions, do not drive faster than the windshield wipers can clear water from the windshield. Make sure your wiper blades are in good shape, and replace them yearly.
10. Equip your car with emergency supplies, such as blankets, food, water, spare fuses, a flashlight with batteries, an ice scraper, flares and a first-aid kit.

Changing seasons bring new and different driving conditions, so consider registering for a driver-improvement course, such as the classroom or online courses offered by the AARP Driver Safety Program (www.aarp.org/driversafety) to learn valuable safety tips to keep you and your passengers safe all year round.

Huguette Roe / Shutterstock.com

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During the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday weekend state, county and local police agencies from throughout the Midwest will be stepping up enforcement of seat belt and other traffic safety laws. The Click It or Ticket mobilization will run from November 24th through November 27th.

“Police agencies throughout the Midwest are joining together this Thanksgiving holiday with one simple goal – to get motorists to buckle up, which will save lives on our roadways,” said Michael Witter, Regional Administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. ”We want all motorists to arrive at their destinations safely.

While law enforcement officials will tell you that issuing tickets is never a pleasant experience, having to notify next of kin following a fatal crash is by far a worse scenario,” stated Witter.

In 2009 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 12,713 lives. An additional 3,688 lives could have been saved if seat belts had been worn at the time of the crashes. NHTSA statistics also show that those least likely to buckle up are teens, young adults, males, nighttime riders, motorists traveling on rural roads, and individuals traveling in pickup trucks.

During the 2009 Thanksgiving holiday, 303 passenger vehicle occupants were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes, including 187 during nighttime hours. According to Witter, nighttime is one of the more dangerous times on the road because seat belt use is traditionally lower. ”Wearing a seat belt costs you nothing and may save your life or protect you from a serious, possibly life-altering injury.

Not wearing a seat belt, especially during this Thanksgiving period, will definitely cost you a ticket at the very least, and maybe even your life,” Witter continued. ”In addition to stepped-up seat belt enforcement, police will also be cracking down on impaired drivers and those driving at excessive speeds,” added Witter.

“Anyone caught speeding will be ticketed, and anyone caught driving impaired will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Witter concluded. State Police from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio are participating in the holiday mobilization.

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