BURRILLVILLE – This week is Mother’s Day and like on all holiday, many families will head out to dinners at area restaurants to celebrate.
Kids have a tendency to want to explore new place,s and may also be more than likely to run across parking lots when they are excited. They are unaware of the dangers related to vehicles traveling in parking lots at these restaurants. Kids need to stay close to their parents and guardians when exiting family vehicles and not run across parking lots trying to get to the entrance doors of restaurants. This also applies to exiting the restaurants after eating dinner, as everyone is headed back to the family vehicle. Kids are much safer holding adult hands when walking in restaurant parking lots and should never run. Walk safely, and watch for moving vehicles to avoid unintentional injuries that may be caused by being struck by a moving vehicle.
Driving-aged teenagers and adults should also drive extremely slow in restaurant parking lots. I’ve witnessed drivers exceeding safe speed limits on way too many occasions while driving in restaurant parking lots. It’s not a race track. It’s a parking lot. Watch for kids and families, and slow down when looking for a parking spot or leaving. It can help prevent injuries and potentially save a life. When you are riding in the family vehicle make sure that everyone is properly restrained and kids are boosted up and buckled up in backseats. Infants and toddlers should be properly restrained in rear-facing car seats also secured in vehicle backseats.
Have a safe and happy Mother’s Day.
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.
