How did the chicken cross the road?...

You may remember the old joke, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" Well, now we want to focus on how the chicken crossed the road safely! 

Since 2017 Dayton Children’s, Dayton Public Schools, the City of Dayton and the Ohio Department of Transportation have been working together on Ohio’s Safe Routes to School program. 

In 2022, Dayton Children’s emergency department saw over 600 injuries related to biking, walking, and other wheeled activities. Many of these injuries were in intersections and 11% of these injuries involved automobiles. “Using a crosswalk is one way to ensure everyone is safe as they walk in Dayton,” says Abbey Pettiford, injury prevention coordinator at Dayton Children’s Hospital. 

Here are some tips to make sure everyone in the family knows how to use the crosswalk safely: 

1. Be careful when you approach the crosswalk, you will see a countdown signal. Press the button and enter the crosswalk when the "walking person" walk signal appears.   
2. Teach kids at an early age to look left, right and left again before crossing the street. Then remind them to continue looking until safely across. 
3. It’s always best to walk on sidewalks or paths and cross at street corners, using traffic signals and crosswalks. If there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible.  Edit media
4. Teach kids to make eye contact with drivers before crossing the street. 
5. Children younger than ten need to cross the street with an adult. Every child is different, but developmentally, most kids are unable to judge the speed and distance of oncoming cars until age ten.  
6. Teach kids not to run or dart out into the street or cross between parked cars. 
7. Encourage kids to be alert for cars that are turning or backing up. 
8. If kids are walking when it’s dark out, teach them to be especially alert and make sure they are visible to drivers. Have them wear light- or brightly colored clothing and reflective gear.  
9. Teach kids to put phones, headphones and devices down when crossing the street. 
10. Drivers should drop the distractions and pay attention, especially at crosswalks and street corners.  

“If possible, we encourage all families to ditch the car and try commuting to school in a new way! Walking and biking to school is a great way to get your exercise and can even promote better mental health,” says Pettiford.  

This project is made possible by funding from the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School grant. Learn more about Ohio’s Safe Routes to School program here.