Onondaga County recently held its annual “Share the Road Expo” at Destiny USA to teach kids traffic safety. This comes after three children in central New York were killed after being hit by cars earlier this month.
Joshua Cruz of Solvay signed up his two-year-old son and his one-year-old daughter with Safe Child identification. They got fingerprinted and their pictures taken.
“God forbid anything bad happens, somebody comes by and snatches them, they’re in the system and they can put an Amber Alert out very quickly,” Cruz said.
It is just one exhibit at the “Share the Road Expo” that gave law enforcement a chance to talk to kids and their parents.
Sgt. Jon Seeber with the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office said young adults got the chance to try a distracted driving simulator.
"We tend to see kids that just get their license operating the car with other teenagers in the car distracting them, music loud, having a conversation, eating, on the cell phone," Seeber said. "We really try to sink it into them, the importance of sharing the road not only with motorists but pedestrians and bicyclists.
The event had school bus and bicycle safety coloring books for younger kids.
“We want to show the kids we are friendly, we’re not the enemies,” Seeber said.
He also said they educate drivers on New York State’s “Move Over” Law.
“Anytime you’re on a highway, you need to change lanes over to the furthest lane away from that emergency vehicle, or you need to slow down and approach with due care, if you can’t get over in a timely manner,” Seeber said.
The law was named in honor of an Onondaga County deputy and state trooper who were fatally injured on the side of the road. Bringing awareness to kids and adults at events like this can hopefully prevent an accident in the future.
