(Left to right) What drivers with bad wipers see in the fog: Ariyah Lopez, 10, Myla Kapusta, 9 and Ja’Kira Clemons, 11, use wax paper to simulate poor-driving conditions.
DERBY – Every day, more than 40 children are hit by automobiles in the United States, according to SafeKids.org. With statistics like that, officials at Irving School and Griffin Hospital spent time Wednesday showing students how to stay safe.
On Wednesday (Oct. 5) members of Griffin’s Safe Kids Greater Naugatuck Valley Coalition and AAA Northeast joined forces to raise awareness, promote pedestrian safety and show Irving students the safest way to cross the street, especially in bad weather.
Irving School is located at a very busy intersection at Garden and Water streets, with about one-third of the K‑5 student population walking to and from school every day, according to Irving’s Dean of Student Affairs Marc Russo.
From 9 a.m. to noon, students participated in various activities in the school gym, including: walking and running through traffic cones; having to ​“stop, look and listen” for oncoming cars, and; covering their faces with a wax paper to simulate foggy conditions that impact drivers.
Outside the school, students took turns sitting behind the wheel of a big Derby Public Works dump truck, to show how difficult it is for drivers to see people, especially kids, crossing the street.
According to SafeKids.org, unintentional pedestrian injuries are the fifth leading cause of injury-related death in the United States for children ages 5 to 19.
Ja’Kira Clemons, 11, a fifth grader, tried her hand running through traffic cones with a piece of wax paper covering her eyes to simulate how a driver might see road conditions during fog or rain.
“It looked really blurry,” she said.
Fifth grader Ariyah Lopez, 10, said she knows how important it is to stop and look both ways to watch for cars.
Cathi Kellett, coordinator of Griffin’s Safe Kids Greater Naugatuck Valley Coalition, has been bringing the program to Irving since 2004.
“Griffin is a big believer in prevention,” Kellett said. ​“With the big trucks, we want to stress to kids that the drivers can’t see them if they’re standing right in front, and it wasn’t until I was standing some 10 to 20 feet out from the truck, that I could be seen by driver. We want the kids to wave their hands, not only when they see big trucks, but cars, as well, and let the drivers know they’re there.”
Candace Lebel, a second grade teacher at Irving and head of the school’s Health and Safety Committee, is also part of the school’s Walking Bus, where staffers walk to students’ houses every day to pick them up and making sure everyone arrives to school safe.
“We have a big walking population and we have had children get hit by cars in the past,” Lebel said. ​“It’s important to hold this program each year, especially in October when we have Halloween, to remind students how to walk safely.”
Irving School Principal Aimee Misset said student safety is a number one priority, especially at a neighborhood school.
“We have kids that walk to and from school, students who walk to their friends’ houses, we have Halloween coming up- it can get a little scary out on the streets,” Misset said. ​“We have skinny streets, we have a lot of cars in the area, kids aren’t always watching and sometimes drivers are distracted. The more we can do to help kids know how to be safe, the better. Wear bright colors if it’s dark out, carry a flashlight and make drivers aware that you’re there.”
