Road Watch/Rant for July 25—--JMR
(Heat Wave Stresses Importance of not leaving kids or pets in cars)
Unless you live on another planet or are a hermit with no access to news, there’s no excuse for leaving any child or pet alone in a car in this long spell of 90-plus weather.
The inside temperature of a vehicle can reach up to 131-172 degrees Fahrenheit when parked in direct sunlight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“It’s important to remember that temperatures inside a car on a day with outside temperatures in the mid-to-high 90s can quickly soar to nearly 200 degrees, which is hot enough to cook many foods and to kill most living things,” said Jana L. Tidwell, a spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic.
“Never leave children or pets in a parked car,” she said. “If you see a child or pet locked in a car and cannot find the owner of the vehicle, call 911 immediately.”
The risk of serious injury or death during hot weather is heightened for children left alone in vehicles, according to research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Heat stroke, a form of hyperthermia, is the leading cause of non-crash vehicle deaths for children under the age of 14. NHTSA reports at least 27 documented deaths per year due to the latter.
NHTSA and AAA Mid-Atlantic offer the following safety tips:
BULLET Never leave a child alone in a car – even with the windows partially opened – as a vehicle’s interior can still heat up quickly to deadly temperatures.
BULLET Don’t leave your children in a vehicle with the motor running and air conditioner on even for a few minutes. A child may put the car into drive or even get caught in a closing power window. Also, there is the added risk of the car being hijacked and the child being abducted.
BULLET Make a habit of looking inside the vehicle – front and back – before locking the door and walking away. Children have died because they fell asleep in their car seats and their parents/guardians didn’t realize they were still in the car.
BULLET If your spouse or guardian is taking your children to day car, ask him or her to call you to make sure the drop-off went according to plan.
BULLET Do things to remind you that a child is in the vehicle:
BULLET Leave a written note in your vehicle where you will see it as you leave the vehicle such as on the dashboard.
BULLET Place your purse, briefcase or something else you need in the back seat where the child is seated so that you will have to check that area to retrieve it when you leave the vehicle.
BULLET Keep an object in the child’s car seat, such as a stuffed toy. When the child is buckled in, place the object where the driver will notice it when leaving the vehicle, as a reminder that a child is in the back seat.
BULLET Don’t let children play in an unattended vehicle – teach them that a car is not a play area. Remember that tragedy in the Camden area where three boys died while locked inside a trunk. Always lock your car doors and keep car keys out of children’s reach.
If a child has spent a prolonged amount of time in a hot vehicle and appears to be showing signs of heat distress, call 911 immediately for medical assistance. Cool the victim as quickly as possible by applying cool water to the skin and/or ice packs under the armpits and groin area while waiting for help.
NHTSA offers additional tips on keeping children safe at: www.nhtsa.gov/KeepingKidsSafe.
ROAD RANT
I’ve never been a fan of cloverleafs or traffic circles – which I think are extremely dangerous and obsolete. Never been a fan of the crazy cloverleaf in Middletown on the way to the Granite Run Mall.
Neither apparently is a regular reader requesting anonymity who gave this week’s Road Rant about the on-ramp from Route 352 North (Middletown Road) to Route 1 North (Baltimore Pike) and the Media Bypass.
“There is a stop sign here that backs traffic up big time in the morning rush hour,” he e-mails. “People stop here and are afraid to merge onto Route 1.
“I think a lot of the drivers do not realize there is a solid (lane) line here (on Baltimore Pike) which means that traffic already traveling on Route 1 cannot cross over,” he continues.
“Therefore, cars looking to turn onto Route 1 from Route 352 should have no issue,” he says.
His main point is that the solid white line along Route 1 needs to be repainted and has been faded for a while. This may be a reason drivers are timid when turning at this intersection.
Road Watcher visited the ramp onto Route 1 North with a stop sign for only turning right – not far from a stop sign for a back street, East Old Baltimore Pike – about noontime Thursday.
The traffic on Route 1 approaching either the straightaway for Media or the entrance to the Route 1/Media Bypass was a never-ending stream – and quite fast – making it very hairy to turn right onto the pike after stopping at the stop sign.
I believe even with a solid white line separating the third and far-right lane, the oncoming vehicles often bear right to get onto the bypass even though they could stay in the center lane to get onto the bypass. Maybe that's why many motorists are reluctant to pull out after stopping.
PennDOT spokesman Gene Blaum said he would check into it to see if it should be painted.
PennDOT Cleanup
More than 186,000 volunteers cleaned 19,373 miles of roads, trails and shorelines in Pennsylvania during the Great American Cleanup of PA, which ran from March 1 to May 31, PennDOT said.
During the cleanup, 12 million pounds of trash was collected, with 3.7 million pounds collected by PennDOT’s Adopt-A-Highway program volunteers.
There were about 4,822 reported cleanup events statewide. Of the total miles cleaned, Adopt-A-Highway groups cleaned a record 12,340 miles of roadways with the help of nearly 104,000 volunteers.
PennDOT provides gloves and safety vests for Adopt-A-Highway and cleanup groups. PennDOT usually spends about $11 million annually for litter pickup with department staff.
PennDOT spokesman Gene Blaum said a check of the site online indicates there should be a solid white lane line at the spot in question, but he had to further check it out before notifying a painting crew.
SEPTA Regional Rail
SEPTA will issue new schedules for all Regional Rail Lines effective today.
In addition to the time changes, riders will also notice new easier to read Regional Rail schedules. The most noticeable change is the single color designation – blue gray – which replaces the orange signs.
Passengers may pick up the new timetables at Market Street-East, Suburban and 30th Street stations and SEPTA sales offices. They are also available on the Web site at www.septa.org or call customer service at 215-580-7800.
On the Media-Elwyn Line Time adjustments have been made to most weekday, midday and weekend trains.
On the Paoli-Thorndale Line, Train #9562 will now operate as train #562 and will run two minutes later departing Thorndale at 1:10 p.m. Train #564 will run two minutes later, departing Malvern at 1:57 p.m.
Traffic Delays
Radnor – Goshen Road, road work costing $1.3 million, closed/detoured 24 hours daily between Darby-Paoli and Hunt roads for roadway reconstruction and realignment to remove a sharp curve through Aug. 21. Work began March 1. Goshen Road will be detoured over Darby-Paoli Road, Bryn Mawr Avenue, Route 3, Route 252 and Goshen Road.
Concord – Baltimore Pike, bridge replacement with lane restrictions on bridge over Chester Creek 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through June 2011. Work began in September 2009.
Baltimore Pike (U.S. Route 1) – Middletown and Chester Heights, bridge replacement with lane restrictions between Darlington and Station roads, 24-hour restrictions through June 2011. Work began Oct. 12.
Road Watch/Road Rant appears Sundays. Only messages and mail with phone numbers will be considered. E-mail: jroman@delcotimes.com.