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INJURY PREVENTION: PEDESTRIAN SAFETY
Each year approximately 13 percent of all motor vehicle deaths involve pedestrians, and another 82,000 pedestrians are injured each year. The highest death rates involving pedestrians occur among the very young and elderly populations. Pedestrian injuries occur most frequently after dark, in urban settings, and primarily in intersections where pedestrians may walk or dart into traffic. It is not uncommon for alcohol to play a role in the death or injury of a pedestrian. How can you protect yourself from being injured or becoming a fatality? Accidence avoidance techniques have the following suggestions for joggers and walkers:
- Carry or wear reflective material at night to help drivers see you.
- Cross only at crosswalks. Keep to the right in crosswalks.
- Before crossing, look both ways. Be sure the way is clear before you cross.
- Cross only on the proper signal.
- Watch for turning cars.
- Never go into the roadway from between parked cars.
- Where there is no sidewalk, and it is necessary to walk in a roadway, walk on the left side, facing traffic.
- Don\'t wear headphones for a radio or tape player. These may interfere with your ability to hear sounds of motor vehicles.
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GENERAL HEALTH
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