Newspaper Page Text
The Lee County Ledger, Wednesday, November 24, 2010, Page 7C
Good News for Peach State Drivers
Georgia Receives High Score for Roadway Safety Laws in
New Emergency Nurses Association National Scorecard
Special to the Ledger
At a time when tens of
thousands of Americans
are injured or die on our
nation’s roadways each
year, Georgia received
one of the nation’s highest
scores in a new roadway
safety scorecard released
this week by the Emer
gency Nurses Association
(ENA). The report, 2010
ENA National Scorecard
on State Roadway Laws:
A Blueprint for Injury Pre
vention, examines roadway
safety laws in all 50 states
and the District of Colum
bia and scores each based
on 14 criteria.
Each year, emergency
nurses treat thousands of
patients who are involved
in traffic incidents and
recognize the importance
of laws in promoting safe
driving and preventing
injury, particularly around
Thanksgiving and other
busy holiday seasons.
The 2010 ENA National
Scorecard ranks states
based on 14 types of legis
lation that address: seat belt
use; child passenger safety;
graduated driver licens
ing for teens; universal
motorcycle helmet require
ments; ignition interlock
devices to prevent drunk
driving; and giving the
proper officials the author
ity to develop, maintain
and evaluate a state trauma
system. New to the 2010
scorecard is a ranking for
distracted driving caused
by texting. States received
one point for each type of
legislation.
Georgia received a score
of 11 points because it does
not have laws meeting the
ENA criteria that address
primary seat belt enforce
ment in all passenger
positions, required booster
seats for children up to
8 years old, and ignition
interlock devices to prevent
drunk driving. Oregon and
Washington were the only
states to receive the best
possible score of 14.
“Last year, there were
1,284 deaths on Georgia
roadways,’’ says Sandy
Dudek, Georgia ENA State
Council President. “We
have already done a great
deal to reduce injuries
and fatalities, but there is
more that we can do. We
need our legislators to pass
roadway safety laws that
could dramatically reduce
Helping Your
Kids Make Better
Media Choices
(StatePoint) Today’s kids
are bombarded with mul
timedia messages — both
positive and negative -- and
the wide and expanding
variety of entertainment
media can have a real
impact on the physical and
mental health of children.
How can parents help
children navigate this new
terrain to make wise media
choices?
“A decade ago, most chil
dren and adolescents spent
about three hours a day
watching television. Today,
kids are spending more
than seven hours per day
on entertainment media,
which includes televisions,
computers, phones and
other electronic devices,’’
says Dr. Victor Strasburger,
a member of the Council
on Communications and
Media at the American
Academy of Pediatrics
(AAP).
Choose Media Wisely
To help kids make wise
media choices, parents
should monitor what their
children watch. Parents can
make use of established
rating systems to avoid
inappropriate content, such
as violence, explicit sexual
content or glorified tobacco
and alcohol use.
Stick to educational,
non-violent content. And
by watching TV with your
child you can put any
questionable content into
context and let it serve as
a springboard for family
discussions.
Parents should also
make sure their home’s
media room includes non
electronic media formats
like books, magazines and
newspapers, as well as
board games. Regular trips
to the library with your
children to help them select
books can also encourage
positive media consump
tion.
Limit Screen Time
and Zones
The AAP recommends
parents establish “screen-
free’’ zones at home by
making sure there is no
TV, video games or com
puter in children’s bed
rooms. And they strongly
recommend no TV during
dinner.
Parents can also limit
screen time by creating a
weekly schedule of shows
each family member wants
to watch, or by providing
alternatives, such as read
ing, after-school sports,
hobbies, family activities
and outdoor play. This is
especially important dur
ing vulnerable times, like
when kids get home from
school.
For children younger
than 2 years, the AAP
recommends no TV at all.
A child’s brain develops
rapidly during those first
years, and children learn
best by interacting with
people, not TV screens.
Become Critics
“Studies have associated
high levels of media use
with problems in school,
attention difficulties, sleep
and eating disorders, and
obesity,’’ says Dr. Stras
burger. “And the Internet
and cell phones have
become new platforms for
illicit and risky behaviors.’’
In order to combat nega
tive repercussions of such
media exposure, parents
should encourage children
to be media critics. Ask
kids questions about the
attitudes and behaviors of
characters in TV shows,
movies and books, as well
as the meaning and con
notation of music lyrics,
to get them thinking more
critically about media and
their own behavior.
Also, explain to children
how commercials persuade
people to buy items they
may not necessarily need
or which may not always
be good for them. Consider
using a DVR to minimize
exposure to advertising by
pre-recording shows and
fast forwarding through
some commercials.
For more tips on helping
kids make positive media
choices, visit the AAP’s
website, www.healthychil-
dren.org.
those numbers, and it is up
to the public to call them to
task. As emergency nurses
who see roadway accident
victims every day, we are
working to increase public
will to pass traffic safety
laws that we know will
work.’’
In 2009, 51 percent of
Georgia’s motor vehicle
fatalities were who were
not wearing seatbelts.
For the first time, the
2010 ENA National Score-
card includes a distracted
driving law among the
criteria. Twenty-six states
and DC have passed or
enacted laws that have
a primary enforcement
law that applies to enter
ing, sending, reading or
otherwise retrieving data.
except in the case of an
emergency, for all drivers
using interactive wireless
communication devices.
According to the Na
tional Highway Safety and
Transportation Adminis
tration, 5,474 people died
in distraction-related motor
vehicle crashes in 2009,
of which cell phones as a
distraction amounted to 18
percent of fatalities in the
distraction-related crashes.
Of all distractions while
driving, texting has caused
the most recent concern in
state legislatures. Georgia
does have a primary en
forcement law that applies
to distracted driving.
“According to the Cen
ters for Disease Control
and Prevention, every 12
minutes, someone dies in a
car crash on U.S. roads and
every ten seconds, some
one is injured, taken to and
treated in an emergency
department for injuries
sustained in a motor ve
hicle crash,’’ said ENA
President Diane Gurney,
RN, MS, CEN. “We know
that many of those injuries
and deaths are prevent
able through roadways
laws and enforcement and
we need policy makers to
join us in supporting and
passing laws that can save
lives. Across the country,
emergency nurses, who
treat the victims of motor
vehicle crashes every day,
are urging their policy
makers to pass and enact
more and better roadway
safety laws.’’
The 2010 ENA National
Scorecard shows that 47
states and the District of
Columbia have passed
legislation that will al
low them to develop and
maintain statewide trauma
systems. This is one state
more than in the 2008
report. The only states
without legislation address
ing a statewide trauma
system are Idaho, Rhode
Island and Vermont.
State legislative informa
tion in the 2010 ENA Na
tional Scorecard on State
Roadway Laws: A Blue
print for Injury Prevention
is current as of October
11, 2010. The full report is
available online at www.
ena.org.
Submitted Photo
Kindergarten October Model Students from Kinchafoonee Primary School
Back Row from Left to Right: Gavin Seybold, Dixey Hayes, Hunter Rudd, Knia Casey, Brody
Morris, Cole Workman. Front Row from Left to Right: Garrett MacMichael, Kaygan Tripp, Karla
Tello, Emmy Strickland, Seth Walls, Chase Bell.
Submitted Photo
First Grade October Model Students from Kinchafoonee Primary School
Back Row from Left to Right: Karson Mistrot, Alyssa Coston, Olivia Petty, Lexington McCloud,
Mia Hendricks, Kenyata White. Front Row from Left to Right: Emma Turoski, Brayden Jackson,
Submitted Photo
Second Grade October Model Students from Kinchafoonee Primary School
Back Row from Left to Right: Shonkia Holsey, McKenna Saxon, Janelle Eubanks, Tristan
Price. Front Row from Left to Right: Lauren Roberts, Megan Glausier, Grade Eubanks, Morgan
Bennett, Khila Bradford.