Bright Ideas USA, Pedestrian Safety Blog

Lakewood Police Department National Night Out Against Crime

This past Tuesday (Aug 5th) was a time for the civilians of Lakewood to see who stands behind their stance for safety.

From 4:00 p.m until 9:00 p.m. at Pine park, all Lakewood residents were invited to the event that featured free entertainment, and food and drinks.

The schedule included cartoon characters, rides provided by Party On with Natalie, free bicycle helmets, free children's tee shirts, antique cars, "DUNK A COP", a raffle for fee bicycles for children ages 4 to 12, and much, much more!

Repesentatives from many County Organizations were at the park including the Lakewood Police Department's Special Response Team and the Lakewood Police Department's Traffic and Safety Unit, The Lakewood Fire Department, the Lakewood EMS, the Lakewood Hatzolah and Providence House.

Thank you to the Police Department and all of the people involved in sponsoring and planning this fun and enjoyable evening.
 posted by Bright Ideas   

Will NJ Pedestrians be More Safe in 2007

On September 18, New Jersey Governor Corzine announced a five-year, $74 million initiative comprised of a three-pronged approach (engineering, education and enforcement) to improve pedestrian safety. Agencies involved include the New Jersey Department of Transportation, The Department of Law and Public Safety and the Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC). Read more at: http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov

According to the NJ division of Highway traffic Safety, the proportion of pedestrian fatalities in New Jersey is 21%, which is well above the national average. In the Summer of 2007, there will be a Regional Education and Awareness effort for the Jersey Shore Communities for pedestrian safety. Agencies will be contacted for participation.

VTC (Voorhees Transportation Center) has been awarded two large grants by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, provide $442,476 to continue the NJ Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center for a sixth year, and $326,970 for VTC to help NJDOT manage the Safe Routes to School program.

Many NJ towns are working to improve conditions for walkers and cyclists in 2007:

"PLUMSTED - Township and school board officials are working together through a federally funded program to construct sidewalks, improve existing ones and continue to promote the benefits of exercise for people living within a two-mile radius of local schools, the mayor said Monday." See the entire article at
http://www.zwire.com

"HUDSON - Workers move the Hudson Place taxi stand to the northern side of the street toaccommodatee two way traffic by the PATH station. As part of a pedestrian safety campaign, Mayor David Roberts secured a traffic light at Hudson Place and Hudson Street, one of the city's most busyintersectionss, as part of the ongoing "Safe Paths" program that also includes news stop signs, speed humps and yield to pedestrian signs throughout the city." http://www.hobokennj.org

"North Plainfield - Mayor Janice G. Allen is feeling very uneasy because there were four motor vehicle versus pedestrian crashes in North Plainfield so far this year. She has asked Chief William Parenti to do a cause analysis on each crash to determine if there are preventative measures the Borough can embark upon,

In an effort to reduce or prevent the likelihood of this trend continuing Mayor Allen pledged that the governing body will assist in whatever capacity necessary. “While I am proud of our efforts in curtailing crime, we also must do all we can to help protect our citizens from the hazards of motor vehicle crashes and in particular pedestrian safety,” veiw entire article at: http://www.northplainfield.org
 posted by Bright Ideas   

Walking Safely at Night

Walking is great exercise and especially for anyone that is pregnant, just had a baby or is just getting back into the working out lifestyle, if your doc has given you the green light to exercise, enjoy a great walk.

It can be fun to bring along your kids, your dog or your favorite someone and have a good walk. You can listen to music if you go solo or enjoy a fun chat about anything if you pair up with others.

Walking in the cooler months has its own set of requirements, the days are much shorter and the chances of being caught out walking at dusk or dark are much greater. With this fact in mind, be sure that you are very visible to motorists. A great way to make sure you're seen by drivers is to wear a reflective strip on your clothing. Another way is to put small reflective stripes on your shoes or the backs of your pants legs. The movement of your feet and legs and you walk will be instantly attention getting to motorists and if you're visible to the people driving the cars - you're a lot safer.

You can also wear a cap that reflects car lights or a fanny pack that carries items you might need when out such as your wallet with your i.d. or some change to pick up a bottle of water to ensure that you stay hydrated while you're out on your walk.
 posted by Bright Ideas   

Are You and Your Kids Biking Legally in New Jersey?

If you enjoy riding a bicycle, make sure you're doing it legally in the State of New Jersey. The regulations aren't hard to follow and many of them will make your bike ride a safer one.

There is a helmet law that applies if your bicycle has a seat hight of 25-inches or greater. The helmet is mandatory to any bike rider age 17 or younger no matter what size bicycle they are wearing. Your bike must also have lights equipped on the front that must be able to be visible from 500-feet to the front and a rear lamp on the bicycle that emits a red light that is visible from at least 500-feet to the rear of the bike. In addition, it is not required at the time of this writing, but a red reflector is advised on the rear of all bicycles.

Additionally, a bicycle must be equipped with a bell or other audible device that can be heard at least 100 feet away, but not a siren or whistle. Working brakes are a must and you may only carry as many passengers on a bicycle as there are seats.

In New Jersey, the law states a bicyclist must obey all state and local automobile driving laws. A parent may be held responsible for the child's violation of any traffic law. Therefore it makes good sense for all parents to go over safe biking regulations with their kids to make sure they are riding safely and legally in New Jersey.
 posted by Bright Ideas   

Giving the Gift of Safety

If you're considering getting a young person on your holiday list the gift of a bicycle, also give them the gift of safety along with their present.

Make sure they have the proper safety equipment and understand the full importance of using it. A helmet is a must for any child riding a bicycle. Closed head injuries from an impact on a bicycle may seriously injure or even end a child's life. It is very important that children understand the importance of wearing a helmet when biking.

Pads are great for when children are learning to ride and will definitely save them from a scraped knee or elbow as the inevitable falls that are a part of learning to ride, even with training wheels, happen.

Another issue you need to talk to your child about is the importance of being visible to cars. Many children on bicycles are no higher than the hood on a standard SUV and can't easily be seen by a driver, especially at dusk. If you're child has the potential to be riding their bike home from a friend's house or activity such as soccer practice, they need to understand it is very important that motorists see them. A good head and tail light combo installed on the bicycle will help immensely towards making your children much more visible. You can also put reflectors on the pedals and other areas on the bike to ensure great visibility by drivers.

Use those tips to make sure the gift you give this holiday season is a safe one!
 posted by Bright Ideas   

Be Night Wise

If you're going to be walking at night whether from your home to a local store or you're a college student walking from a dorm to another building on campus or just off campus, you need to be "night wise". Being night wise means being wise in the ways to be visible at night and there are many ways to make yourself more visible without spending a lot of money or looking foolish.

If you must walk at night, walk in a well lighted and frequently traveled areas. Don't walk in alleys or take short cuts through dimly lit areas. Also avoid darkened doorways and large bushes.

Whenever possible, walk with a friend and try to never walk alone. Be as visible as you can. Use reflective wrist or ankle bands as an easy solution for visibility for motorists if you must walk in an area where you will be encountering any sort of traffic.

Walking alone isn't always unavoidable and if you must walk alone, tell someone where you are going what route you plan to take. Tell them approximately when you will arrive and agree to check in. If you feel you are in danger or threatened at any point when walking, you can put your house keys between your fingers and point the long side out between your fingers. This will make a stout weapon if you need to defend yourself.

If you feel your being followed by a car or someone else on foot, duck into the nearest house that has a light on and knock on the door and tell the resident you feel you are being followed and wait for the person to pass or turn away. This is normally enough to deter someone that is following. If there are no houses nearby, get to the nearest public area you can.
 posted by Bright Ideas   

Easy Halloween Visibility

It's very important for your children to be visible to people on bikes and in cars on Halloween night. Fortunately, there are a good number of ways to make your children very visible at night.

First of all, letting your children carry a flashlight is a fantastic idea as well as look into putting some reflective strips on the backs of their costumes, so when their backs are to oncoming traffic, they can be clearly seen by motorists.

Another good idea is to use glow dots on the fronts and backs of their shoes. The movement of walking will reflect lights of oncoming cars and the movement will automatically draw the attention of the driver. This is a great way to ensure your kids are seen at night. Another great way to make your kids light up at night is to use arm or ankle bands made out of reflective material. Again the natural movement of your kids will draw attention to their presence as the light catches the reflective strips on their arms or legs. Motorists will be aware of your child being nearby.

Go over the safety basics with your kids and make sure they understand they are hard to see at night for motorists. Your children should understand they should never cross too closely in front of an oncoming car and they should never cross anywhere but at corners. Motorists won't be expecting a child to dart out in the middle of a street and the darkness of both the costume and the night can make children very hard to see.

You can ensure your child doesn't become a Halloween injury statistic by making sure your kids are easy to see. The simple use of reflective materials will ensure your kids are visible and have a great, safe Halloween.
 posted by Bright Ideas