Special needs - death by car and what we can do about it

The Centers for Disease Control’s pedestrian injury page tells us that in 2012, "4,743 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States, and another 76,000 pedestrians were injured….  Pedestrians are 1.5 times more likely than passenger vehicle occupants to be killed in a car crash on each trip…"Some groups are more at risk than others. "Pedestrians ages 65 and older accounted for 20% of all pedestrian deaths and an estimated 9% of all pedestrians injured ...more than one in every five children between the ages of 5 and 15 who were killed in traffic crashes were pedestrians."The CDC doesn’t collect statistics on ambulatory special needs adults, but if they did I suspect this would be the highest risk population. Special needs adults don’t drive, and they have to live where services and work are available. Getting to and from work by foot means more exposure to fast moving heavy metal objects guided by imperfect humans. Cognitive disabilities often means less awareness of high risk surroundings, less understanding of human errors, and more impulsiveness.Which is perhaps how Teddy, beloved by family and friends and community, was killed by a car a few days ago. My wife attended his funeral today, I’m writing while away from home, caring for my father. Our #1 son and I saw him about 3 weeks ago, Teddy was showing my adult son his home, acting as a mentor for our son’s transition towards more or less independent living.The CDC’s has recommendatio...
Source: Be the Best You can Be - Category: Disability Tags: adolescence adult cognitive impairment employment technology Twin Cities Source Type: blogs