New York Personal Injury Lawyer Kenneth A. Wilhelm Offers Tips for a Safe School Year
New York, NY (PRWEB) September 18, 2013 -- Summer has officially ended and children are back in school. According to a report by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, nearly 55 million children in the United States are back in school and nearly 13 percent of them either walk or bike to school. It is important for motorists to be vigilant when it comes to pedestrians especially before and after school hours, the report states.
According to AAA, the afternoon hours, particularly between 3 and 7 p.m., are the most dangerous for child pedestrians. The report states that more than 1,200 children lost their lives during these after-school hours between the years 2000 and 2010. Even one such fatality is one too many considering these types of incidents are entirely preventable, says New York personal injury lawyer Kenneth A. Wilhelm.
"What really bothers me about these numbers is the fact that these serious or fatal injury accidents can be prevented, if only motorists would exercise more care and parents would educate their children about traffic safety," he said.
Here are five tips Wilhelm offers for a safe school year:
1. Do not drive distracted. Motorists need to be completely focused on the roadway especially in school zones where children may be running across the street or emerge from between parked cars. Taking your eye of the roadway or attention away from driving will greatly increase your risk of a crash, especially in a crowded school zone.
2. Watch your speed. Speed limits in school zones are set at 25 mph or less for a good reason. It is a lot easier to stop for a pedestrian when you are traveling at or below the speed limit.
3. Yield the right-of-way. Motorists have a responsibility to come a full stop at crosswalks. Drivers also have a duty to exercise care and caution when driving in an area with pedestrians. When you are at a stop sign or crosswalk, always come to a full stop and check carefully for children on sidewalks and crosswalks before proceeding.
4. Back up carefully: When you are exiting or entering a driveway or backing up, check your rear-view and side-view mirrors. Teach your children to never play in or around parked vehicles.
5. Educate your children: If your children walk or bike to school, teach them the rules of the road. Make sure your young bicyclist wears a properly fitted helmet.
About the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm
The Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm is a personal injury litigation firm with an unwavering dedication to its clients. With more than 41 years of experience, our firm strives to obtain the best compensation for those who have been injured or those who have lost a loved one due to an accident or by someone else's negligence. We handle cases dealing with personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death, workers' compensation, dental malpractice, motor vehicle accidents, rape, paralysis, comas, seizures, false arrest, lead poisoning, trips and slips and falls, elevator accidents, construction accidents, Erb's palsy, cerebral palsy, brain damage, blindness, hearing loss, dog bite cases, fire and smoke inhalation accidents, bicycle accidents, falls from windows or scaffolds, and many other types of accidents and injuries.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys' fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury cases in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
The Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm
445 Park Ave, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10022
(212) 545-7373
Please visit us at: http://www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Kenneth A. Wilhelm, The Law Offices Of Kenneth A. Wilhelm, http://www.work4youlaw.com, (212) 545-7373, [email protected]
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