Child injury deaths in King County drop by 62 percent

193 children’s lives saved over the last decade, thanks to prevention policies, law enforcement, education

More children are alive and well in King County today because of a dramatic drop in injury deaths such as traffic crashes, drowning, falls and burns. From 2000 to 2009, the rate of death from injuries for children 19 and younger declined by 62 percent. The reduction reflects a decade of innovative public health research, policies, law enforcement, and education of parents.

“There is nothing more valuable than saving a child’s life,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “Thanks to safety programs and safer practices, we’ve taken a tremendous step forward in making King County a healthier place to live.”

In King County, 22 children died from injuries in 2009, down from 55 in 2000. Public Health – Seattle & King County estimates that 193 children are alive today who wouldn’t be if injury death rates hadn’t declined.

The improvements in King County surpassed a national trend of fewer child injury deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that child deaths from injuries declined 29 percent from 2000 to 2009.

“In King County, child injury rates have fallen twice as fast as national injury rates,” said Dr. Beth Ebel, Director of the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center, University of Washington. “We led the nation in strong bicycle helmet legislation, passed the first booster seat law in the country, and have innovative programs to prevent childhood drowning. These programs make a difference.”

In King County, traffic-related child deaths declined from 35 in 2000 to 11 in 2009.

“Safer cars play a huge role in reducing the number of traffic-related deaths,” said Dr. David Fleming, Director & Health Officer for Public Health. “Many of us can remember climbing around the front seat of our parents’ cars —with no seat belts and no air bags. We’ve come a long way, and our kids are safer because of it.” 

A variety of other factors also contributed to the decline in traffic-related child deaths, including:

·         Ninety-eight percent of people wearing seat belts, one of the highest rates in the nation

·         Graduated Driver’s Licenses, which help keep teen drivers safe through passenger restrictions, curfew times, and more supervised time behind the wheel.

·         Impaired driving enforcement, prosecution and penalties

The number of children who drowned in King County also has been steadily declining; five children drowned in 2000 and only one in 2009.

A number of policies that have made King County a safer place for children are a result of the work of the King County Child Death Review committee. The committee—comprised of health care providers, government agencies, law enforcement and fire departments, prosecutors, community leaders and others— reviews the circumstances of the death of each child in King County and uses the information to take action to prevent future deaths. Changes that have resulted from this robust process include increased education and promotion of safe sleep positions, the promotion of legislation on bicycle helmets, and the removal of unsafe child products from the market.

Despite efforts to make our community safer for all children, injuries remain a leading cause of death locally and nationally, and new challenges persist. Accidental poisonings, including teenagers overdosing prescription drugs, are a growing concern.

“The significant decline in child injury rates can also be attributed to the partnerships between King County organizations and residents who have worked together to make policy- and system-level changes that promote safety,” said Dr. Linda Quan, who co-led the Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Seattle and has researched drowning for over 30 years while at Seattle Children’s Hospital. “But, we still have work to do. Our goal is to get unintentional deaths to zero. Therefore it’s imperative that supporting new and existing safety initiatives remain a priority in our governments, businesses and communities.”

To learn more about the important work of local collaborations to prevent child injuries and deaths, visit:

·         The Booster Seat Coalition

·         Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center

·         Safe Kids Seattle

·         King County Traffic Safety Coalition

·         Safe Kids Coalitions for South King County

·         Washington State Department of Health Injury Prevention Program

·         Washington State Drowning Prevention Network

·         Child Profile

·         Public Health – Seattle & King County Injury Prevention Program

'Child injuries' refers to unintentional injuries that occur among children and teens 0-19 years.

Providing effective and innovative health and disease prevention services for over 1.9 million residents and visitors of King County, Public Health – Seattle & King County works for safer and healthier communities for everyone, every day. More at www.kingcounty.gov/health

Contact: Katie Ross, 206-263-8781

Walking and warm weather go well together; make it safe!

Courtesy or the Oregon Department of Transportation and ACTS Oregon
 
Warmer weather and longer days naturally bring out more walkers, so the Oregon Department of Transportation is encouraging both pedestrians and motorists to be on the lookout for one another. After a long stormy winter, they may not be accustomed to traveling around each other, but it is each individual’s responsibility to be safe – on foot or behind the wheel.

So far this year (as of April 11), 20 pedestrians have died in vehicle-related crashes. That’s up 25 percent over this time last year. A review of recent “springtime” vehicle/pedestrian crashes (April – June of both 2010 and 2011) finds a total of 24 fatalities in 23 crashes.

“The data show a mix of reasons for crashes and the pedestrian fatalities,” said Julie Yip, Bicycle/Pedestrian Safety Program manager for ODOT. “But a large percentage – about 70 percent – of the crashes show some action of the pedestrian was a contributing factor, so we want to remind walkers how important it is to be alert, be seen and follow the law.”

In 16 of the 23 crashes from these two periods, the pedestrian was illegally in the roadway, such as crossing between intersections or not yielding right of way to the vehicle that struck them. Seven of the 24 pedestrians killed wore dark clothing that made them not visible to the driver. About 58 percent of the pedestrians who died had some level of alcohol in their systems, with 42 percent of those having a blood alcohol content of .08 or greater, Oregon’s minimum legal limit for impaired driving.

Driver errors and impairment also contributed to some crashes. One crash that killed two pedestrians involved a driver not stopping as the pedestrians crossed in a crosswalk. Two drivers had alcohol in their systems.

Overall, Oregon is down slightly in vehicle-related fatalities for 2012 (74 deaths so far compared to 76 at this time in 2011). Safety advocates want to see that downward trend continue – and hope it includes fewer pedestrian fatalities.

The current pedestrian safety campaign theme is “See and Be Seen,” and it asks both drivers and pedestrians to be aware of each other. Other tips for safety include the following:
  
Drivers—

• Remember, under Oregon law there is a crosswalk at every intersection; stop and stay stopped for pedestrians in crosswalks.
• Do not pass a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk; a stopped car may be a clue that a pedestrian is crossing.
• When stopping for a crosswalk between intersections on a multi-lane road, you should stop about 30 feet before the crosswalk so you don’t block visibility to a driver in a second lane.
• When stopping at an intersection, do not block the crosswalk.
• Pedestrians move at different speeds. Be alert for children who may suddenly dart into the street. Be patient with older adults who take extra time to cross the street.

Pedestrians—

• Use the route, path, sidewalk, tunnel or crosswalk designated for pedestrians; avoid interactions with vehicles – no matter who is responsible, pedestrians generally lose out in confrontations with vehicles.
• Before crossing a street, look “left-right-left” for traffic in all directions. Keep looking as you cross the street. With a growing number of electric vehicles on our roads, we can no longer rely on hearing an oncoming vehicle – always be alert!
• If there are no sidewalks or designated pedestrian routes, walk close to the edge of the road and out of the way of traffic. Walk facing traffic so you can see approaching cars.
• At intersections, wait for a walk signal to tell you it’s your turn to cross the street. Look before you go to make sure drivers see you and have stopped.
• Be visible. Wear bright or reflective material, even in daylight, so you can’t be overlooked.

See a breakdown of pedestrian fatalities by Oregon county for 2010 and2011.

Get more information or download a free booklet highlighting laws for drivers and pedestrians.




For more information: Julie Yip, Bicycle/Pedestrian Safety Program Manager, (503) 986-4196
or Shelley M. Snow, Public Affairs, (503) 881-5362

Be patient and we’ll all get home

By Norm Nyhuis, Trainer / Consultant, Evergreen Safety Council

Every now and then, all drivers see someone else do something so egregious that we say, “I wish there were a policeman around!”   Well, I witnessed such an incident just last week.  

Picture a sunny Friday afternoon and everyone is anxious to get home to start their weekend.  I was traveling south on a two-lane county road at about 3:30 pm.  Traffic was somewhat heavy, and it’s obvious that some drivers are getting impatient with the drivers who are stopping traffic behind them to make a left turn across the on-coming traffic.     

The car ahead of me at an intersection was signaling for a left turn.  From my vantage point, I could see that there were two reasons for the driver ahead of me to wait:

1. There was on-coming traffic, and 
2. The first vehicle in line from the opposite direction was a school bus, stopped to drop of kids on their way home from school.  

My pickup has a rather large canopy, so visibility past me is not great.  This was especially true for the driver behind me, who had pulled up so close; I could barely see the top of his head, in the bottom of my rear canopy window.  The bright sunshine in our faces also contributed to the driver not being able to see much past me. 

This impatient driver apparently thought it would be a good idea to let the old fuddy-duddy in the old Ford truck sit there, but s/he had more important things to do.  Using the extra space provided by the intersecting road on the right the driver passed not only me, but the car ahead of me, on the right shoulder.  Not a safe move by any means, but under these circumstances - the driver was past me and nearly past the car ahead of me (the guy signaling to make the left turn) before s/he saw the school bus with stop paddle out and red lights flashing.    Then, amazingly, the driver continued on past the school bus.

Did you know that a school bus driver has the authority to initiate a citation for illegally passing a school bus while it is loading or discharging children? It is a very expensive citation.  In this case, because this was only a two lane roadway, all traffic in both directions must stop until the bus driver retracts the stop paddle and the red lights are no longer flashing. 

Thankful, the school driver’s authority wasn’t needed in this case, because, the car immediately behind the school bus, who saw the entire scenario unfold, was… you guessed it: a County Sheriff’s Deputy.   The blue lights were already flashing as the impatient driver came past him, and after a quick U-turn the Deputy had the impatient driver pulled over about a ¼ mile farther down the road. 

I would have been interested to hear the conversation between the Deputy and the impatient driver:

1. Improper passing of two vehicles on the right, 
2. Driving in an area not designated as a lane of travel, 
3. Passing a school bus discharging children, and 
4. Who knows what all else.

This could be a very expensive lesson on why all of us need to exercise patience behind the wheel.