TRANSPORTATION SAFETY TIPS PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN DURING THEIR COMMUTE
Young Pedestrians on the Road Whether your child is biking, walking, or even skateboarding, it’s vital that they know and follow the rules of the road. All children should practice road safety behavior, such as riding on the right side of the road, wearing helmets, stopping at stop signs, and watching out for cars. Internalizing these habits will help them stay aware of their surroundings when traveling to and from school.
With the school year fast approaching, families are in preparation mode. Parents are busy buying new clothes and school supplies and thinking about
the best way to get their kids safely to school. Keeping your child safe on their commute starts with knowing the transportation method that works best for you and the rules that accompany that method. Taking the School Bus According to the United States Department of Transportation, the school bus is the safest means of transportation to and from school. Buses are built to withstand a hit and distribute the damage throughout the vehicle, keeping its passengers safe and sound. Knowing basic bus safety will help kids be mindful when taking the bus. Before the school year starts, take your children to the bus stop and show them where they should stand when the bus approaches — a minimum of three large steps or 6 feet from the street. Tell your kids about the importance of sitting still and not standing in the bus while it’s in motion.
Sharing the Road When school starts, the roads become even more cluttered than usual. On top of people heading to work, there are large buses making
frequent stops, parents rushing to drop their kids off, and young kids biking or walking to school. With the added tension on the
road, it’s important to be alert and move cautiously. Slowing down in school zones or around young pedestrians will keep you vigilant and could potentially save lives. Teach your kids to be prepared and safe on the road to ensure that they have a healthy and safe school year.
LINDA J.
Linda J. from Lima, Ohio, is a textbook example of how an employer and its representative sometimes just go out of their way to jerk someone around.
One day, the employer’s attorney arranged for a private investigator to infiltrate the service to get video of Linda playing the piano. Although he ultimately ran off from the service—his tires throwing gravel in the parking lot like something out of“Dukes of Hazzard”—after being approached by members of the church, the employer filed a motion with the video and statements from the investigator, asking that Linda’s permanent total disability benefits be stopped. They argued that if she could play a piano in church, she could certainly find work as a musician somewhere! The hearing, as the MasterCard commercials say, was priceless. Conducted in Lima before a senior hearing officer of the Industrial Commission, the defense attorney (himself a former hearing officer) was humiliated. In a three-page, single-spaced order, the Industrial Commission found that not only was the investigator’s statement inaccurate and unsigned, but he had actually videotaped the wrong person in the service playing the piano! (Ah, some moments are to be savored and this was one…) He also found that playing hymns memorized since childhood for 20 minutes every third Sunday was therapeutic for Linda and in no way constituted work activity such that PTD benefits should be terminated. As he said, this did not qualify her to play at Carnegie Hall. As an aside, the defense attorney in this case previously had a father-in-lawwho was a pastor, and I am convinced that he particularly relished trying to make life miserable for Linda and Ed out of bad feelings toward his former wife’s dad. In any event, after the humiliation in front of the Industrial Commission, the wind seems to have gone out of the defense attorney’s sails, as he hasn’t pestered them further. I also want to report that it is rare that I see people go through such persecution with as much grace as Linda and Ed. They have truly lived out and modeled their faith through very difficult circumstances.
Linda worked part time at a department store whose name you’d recognize. She used her office chair as a stepladder to get something off a shelf but lost her balance and fell, cracking her head on the concrete floor. The most serious residual of her accident was the closed head injury, which ultimately degenerated into a diagnosis of“pre-senile dementia, post-concussion syndrome, and anxiety.”Not surprisingly, she was ultimately granted permanent total disability in her claim. What’s more surprising is the personal animosity with which the employer’s defense attorney pursued this case. After one hearing before the Commissioners themselves, at which the employer had disputed recognition of psychological conditions on procedural grounds, their attorney walked out of the hearing and presented me with a copy of the defense medical report he previously claimed he hadn’t yet received— in fact, the defense doctor had agreed with our position 100 percent! (We won the hearing, by the way.) More outrageous was how the employer and its attorney continued to harass Linda and her husband after permanent total disability had been awarded. Linda’s husband, Ed, had pastored a church in the Lima area for more than 20 years. During that time, as the pastor’s wife and a gifted pianist, Linda had accompanied the choir during worship services. After her injury, and at the recommendation of her counselor, she would play hymns she knew frommemory and a lifetime of praising God. She would only fill in for the regular keyboardist every third week or so…but she felt safe as part of a congregation of people who loved and supported her through so much.
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