UDOT Issues Winter Walking and Biking Safety Tips for Students to Encourage Activity Year-Round.
With Utah students returning to school this week, UDOT is encouraging them to continue walking safely to and from school during the winter months. Through its Student Neighborhood Access Program (SNAP), UDOT has issued winter walking tips to help students stay safe during the winter season. The program provides tools to help educators identify the safest routes for students to get to and from school each day and will help them promote walking as a healthy activity even during the winter months.
Winter Walking Safety Tips:
Follow your school’s Student Neighborhood Access Program (SNAP) Plan, which outlines the safest routes for students to walk to and from school.Encourage siblings or friends to walk with you. Walking in groups will increase visibility during inclement weather.Be observant when crossing at an intersection. Snow and ice may keep motorists from stopping at stop signs or traffic signals, so make sure vehicles come to a complete stop before crossing.Dress in layers and wear boots with nonskid soles. Don’t wear a hat that blocks your vision or makes it difficult to hear traffic.Wearing dark “winter” colors can make it difficult for motorists to see you. If you have a dark coat, add a brightly colored scarf or hat or reflective gear.Slow down. Walking quickly or running can increase your chances falling. Wear gloves to avoid putting your hands in your pockets.Walk on sidewalks if possible. If sidewalks are covered in snow and ice and you must walk in the street, walk against the flow of traffic and as close to the curb as possible.More about SNAP:
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration, fewer than 15 percent of all school trips are made by walking or bicycling. In 1969, about half of all students walked or biked to or from school and 87 percent of those living within one mile of school walked or biked. A national survey completed by the United State Centers for Disease Controls in 2004 found that weather was the third most commonly cited reason for not letting children walk or bike to or from school (distance and traffic dangers were first and second).
SNAP is part of Utah’s Safe Routes to School (SR2S) program. SNAP provides school community councils with a software program and resource guide that helps educators and parents to identify and map the safest routes to and from school. Every elementary school in Utah is required by state law to have a SNAP Plan and to update and distribute the plan (to their student body) annually. Junior high and middle schools are strongly encouraged to have SNAP Plans.
SR2S is a federal program administered through the Federal Highway Administration and executed locally by UDOT. SR2S is designed to work with schools and communities to increase the number of children walking and biking safely to school. Projects around the country incorporate a variety of education, engineering and enforcement strategies that make routes safer for children to walk and bike to school, and encouragement strategies to motivate more children to walk and bike.
More information about the Student Neighborhood Access Program is available at www.UDOT.Utah.Gov/SNAP.
