Can you believe it? As of September 23, 2002, Autumn officially began! Daylight savings time will end of October 27, 2002 our clocks will officially “fall back” one hour. Changing our clocks is the easy part. It is more difficult to change our driving habits to insure that our children stay safe while they are outside during the pre-dawn and evening hours. With the days growing shorter and the nights longer, we must make sure that our children retain a high amount of visibility. The National Safety Council says that pedestrians account for one of every six traffic deaths in the country. Most drivers involved in pedestrian accidents claim to have had trouble seeing the pedestrian during the evening or pre-dawn hours.

One of the best ways to make sure that you and your children are seen at night is to wear reflective clothing. Today, reflective clothing is not only fashionable but functional. Backpacks, jackets and even shoes now come with reflective materials that will make the wearer more visible during the pre-dawn and evening hours. It is also great for joggers, bike riders, rollerbladers, and skateboarders.

With Halloween right around the corner, all our little ghosts and goblins should have reflective material in their costumes to make trick-or-treating a fun and safe evening. Trick-or-treaters and their parents should carry a flashlight or reflective glow stick.

We must teach our children to obey all traffic signals and markings. Children need to know that they need to look both ways (left, right and left again) before crossing a street, and that a flashing “walk” sign is not an automatic “go” signal. No one should enter the street from between parked cars or from behind bushes.

As adults we need to be good role models by not only telling our children how to be safe but showing them by setting good examples.

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