Rob White, from the Ohio Department of Transportatio,n and Cindy Nelson, of AAA of Lim, listen as Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith addresses back-to-school safety issues.
Dean Brown | The Lima News
LIMA — The AAA of Lima is making people aware that students are going back to school, which may require more attention to driving safely because of the increased auto and pedestrian traffic near schools.
“Pedestrian traffic is on the rise,” said Cindy Nelson, of AAA. “In Ohio, 176 pedestrians died last year from traffic crashes, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation. That’s up nearly 20% over the five-year average. Among those killed were 14 pedestrians ages 18 and younger. The most dangerous time of the day for young pedestrians is in the morning and the afternoon hours, when kids are going to and from school.”
Jill Ackerman, superintendent of Lima schools, assisted in Wednesday’s safety announcement.
“We want to take this opportunity to remind everyone that all of our schools have different start and release times,” Ackerman said. “Please, please pay attention when you’re driving. We also have young student drivers on the road. So we have to be careful for them as well. With distracted driving, please put the phones down and pay attention to the kids on the street.”
Lima Mayor Sheretta Smith was also on hand for the announcement.
“As mayor, my number one job is to be concerned about the safety of our citizens,” Smith said. “I’m glad to be here today to remind citizens to ‘slow down’ when school is in session. Distracted driving is the No. 1 cause of accidents, not just in our community but across the state. I want to wish all of the families and students a happy year, a safe year, and just remind drivers again that now is the time that there is more traffic on the road. We all have to be careful and diligent and looking out for one another as we’re out on the roads.”
Rob White, from the Ohio Department of Transportation, shared some local numbers.
“From 2017 till the present date, there were 233 pedestrian crashes within Allen County,” he said. “Roughly 6% of those were fatal. Fourteen people lost their lives. Fifteen percent or 36 of those crashes were serious injuries, meaning that someone could not walk away from the crash without the assistance from ambulance, EMS or police.”
Reach Dean Brown at 567-242-0409
