YIKES!, Dangerous Human Tricks #3

So I know you're wondering- did I hear a crash and a scream the moment after I took this photo? Well?

Nope. The driver of the truck was not distracted just then, stopped in time, the vehicles behind the truck were oddly enough paying attention and didn't slam in to each other, and the girl made it back across the school loading loop just fine. Nobody got hurt. Nobody got upset. Nobody will really do anything to get ready for the next time this happens and the truck driver is distracted and whacks the girl after her mom who is parked on the grass median tells her to go back for something that she forgot but to hurry up because it's getting late and there is lots and lots and lots of traffic in this little school parking and loading area all wanting to get out right away. FEWSCH! Yup, just another day of student pickup at a Michigan elementary school.

This school may want to and try to do something to mitigate this danger, but it will be very difficult. You see, the traffic danger problems at this school are magnified a bit because every single one of the students needs to be picked up by a personal internal combustion vehicle. Nope- no school buses in this district. That means hundreds of cars in an area designed for a couple dozen. So, will the money saved on buses be used to build infrastructure for processing hundreds of cars 'n kids in 10 minutes? HA.

Helping schools like this is what I used to do all of the time. You'll find more photos like these on one of the photo pages on my web site at http://web.me.com/doaktc/Site.

I'll have another lovely photo and story from the roadway here in a few days.

Good Idea! Dangerous Human Tricks #2

Yea, I'd say that's a good idea. Stop for the kid.

But, let's see now- the crossing guard is looking at me (taking the photo), the kid is looking at the crossing guard, and who exactly is looking BEHIND that kid where the cars are actually coming from? Yup, just another day of student drop off at a Michigan elementary school. Another day of hundreds of kids and cars and buses mixing in a variety of creative ways. All within a few minutes. Nothing could happen here, right? The kid can stand in the traffic circle as long as he'd like. Heck, there's a crossing guard.

You can bet that this child has been taught all kinds of great stuff about not going with strangers, washing his hands, not poking his eyes out by running with scissors, but probably not that much about traffic safety. What's the number one cause of serious injury and death for kids again..........?

Got a good suggestion for a caption for this photo? I'd love to hear it.

Wait'll you see the next photo and hear the story.

Grandkids as Human Shields?

As promised, it's the first posting of Dangerous Adult Human Tricks photos. You'll find a whole page of 'em on my web site at http://web.me.com/doaktc/Site . I'll post them individually here every few days and give you some background of what we can learn from these lovely slices of daily life. Yes, I took all of the photos myself, and no, the only modifications that I have applied are is sizing them for the web. What you see is what I saw during my days doing school traffic safety consulting.

OK, so for today's selection we find this fine looking grandkid being apparently used to protect the adult from the full force of the airbag deployment. How sweet. Probably won't work, though. The force of the child's skull smacking in to the adult's will most likely result in an unpleasant outcome anyway.

But, HECK, what could go wrong here? After all, they're just creeping forward in a line of 60 other vehicles waiting to pick up hundreds of kids after school. And then they're just going to drive out of the parking lot and to their nearby destination. NOTHING could possibly cause the adult to have to brake or hit something unexpectedly. RIGHT? Well, perhaps I'm just worrying needlessly about the child being smacked by the airbag. After all, she's unrestrained and will probably be thrown out the window before anything happens. Wait, what's that law again? Aw, law schmaw. They're just driving in their nearby neighborhood.

What's that you ask? What about the other photo with little brother? Oh yes, that. Yes, the back seat would indeed be far safer for him, but then the front is,,,,,,,, well, more convenient. AND grandparent can see him better, AND the child likes it better there. Seatbelt and booster seat? No, I'm sorry he can't put the seatbelt or booster seat on right now because, you see, his backpack (which there obviously isn't time to remove) makes it way to hard to use those silly devices (required by law). Heck, his increased proximity to the passenger airbag will probably leave him pretty messed up anyway. OR, maybe he'll be thrown clear like his sister. No, they can't wait and take the time to get the kids all placed properly in the car. Don't you remember? I told you that they're in a line of 60 - 100 cars just itching to get going. What's the priority here! You're talking crazy talk.

See, the annoying thing is that this is really not a terribly unique situation. As you'll find out in my next few posts, convenience rules at schools, and adults just do not understand the risks involved in that darn internal combustion vehicle, or how quickly things happen. Convenience, speed, and happiness of the kids trumps safety most of the time.

I've helped many schools try to minimize the dangers to their kids during student pickup and drop-off. The school where these photos were taken was trying really hard to do a good job. The principal made it a priority. But, she can't control what happens within the cars and the choices made by the adults.

So, parents don't let your babies grow up to be dangerous adults. Urge the other adults that you trust with your little ones to transport them they way that they should. Life can change so quickly. They physics of car, kids and crashes are unforgiving and care nothing for convenience.