Florida Child Injury Law Blog

 Joining students around the world, Pinellas County school children are participating in the 13^th Annual International Walk to School Day Wednesday, October 6. The entire month of October is International Walk to School Month, during which events will be held in many parts of the world to encourage children to walk or ride bikes to school.

 In Pinellas County, the event is sponsored by the Suncoast SAFE KIDS Coalition and All Children’s Hospital. Its focus is to promote pedestrian safety, fitness, and community involvement, according to Cecilia Barreda with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Department. Crossing guards, community police officers, firefighters, parents, and teachers accompany students walking and biking to school, helping them learn safe habits.

  The goal of the international event is to make the world more pedestrian friendly and to

• Encourage physical activity by teaching children the skills to walk safely, how to identify safe routes to school, and the benefits of walking 
• Raise awareness of how walkable a community is and where improvements can be made
• Reduce traffic congestion, pollution, and speed near schools

 Organizers of the event hope to raise awareness of the many benefits of walking and to make the world a safer place in which to do it.

  The National Center for Safe Routes to School of the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center maintains a website with information about International Walk to School Day and International Walk to School Month at http://www.walktoschool.org.

 Florida has the worst record in the nation when it comes to pedestrian safety, according to the oft-quoted Transportation for America Dangerous by Design study. Jim Dodson Law is deeply committed to pedestrian, bicyclist, and child safety.  We encourage family members to get out and participate in this event during the month of October and beyond!