BURRILLVILLE – Spring has finally sprung, and the upcoming weather forecasts and conditions look much better than they have been over the past few weeks.
That opens the doors for more outdoor activities – including with vehicles. People washing their cars and trucks in driveways and yards when the weather is pleasant and sunny is one of those outdoor activities. Kids are often outside playing in the yard, driveways and sometimes near vehicles when their parents are spending time outdoors. Kids should be safer around vehicles during these outdoor activities during the coming months.
This week’s Buckleupallofus Sunday Cartoon and feature article reminds kids about the hazards involving vehicles and aims to initiate conversations between parents and children about vehicle kid-free zones. Kids should never play inside any vehicle for any reason. A vehicle is a means of transportation. It’s not a play area for little kids. Parents should also remind kids not to play near parked vehicles in the driveway, garage or on the street. It’s too dangerous and could lead to a child being hit and run over by that vehicle. There should be no playing hide-and-go-seek under or behind vehicles, and no playing and sitting nearby a parked vehicle. Kids should remain at least three feet away from vehicles and always stay visible. Adults should always check around and under a vehicle for little kids before driving somewhere. It only takes a minute or two, to make sure that your vehicle is safe to drive or move.
Check vehicle surroundings before you drive anywhere. It could save a child’s life.
Jim Weicherding is a Burrillville resident, and the founder and creator of an award-winning traffic safety effort Seasons of Safety. Weicherding contributes kids’ coloring cartoons, which can be printed and used to help parents discuss safety issues with their children. He has a long list of police officers and firefighters in his family and has worked with law enforcement and firefighters in a creative public safety capacity for more than two decades.
