Why 5-7 yr-olds need to hold a hand at crosswalks

Ann Lukits, WSJ, Mar 19, 2013, says kids of 6 or 7 lack the skills to interpret safety clues, such as engine sound levels, and tire noises, when approaching a street.

Those skills start to cut in around age 10.

This results in more than 13,000 kids from 5 to 9 being hit by cars.

Researchers at the Univ of Idaho studied different age groups, asking participants to press a key when they heard a car coming from 5, 12, and 25 mph and thought it was up to where they stood.

Adults detected the car earlier than kids. Nine-year-olds heard it significantly sooner than 7-yr-olds.

Sooo...don't count on the kid having a heads-up...They did hear the car coming at 25 mph sooner, but of course, it was also going to get to them sooner.