Smoke Alarms

Burns

Yield to Emergency Vehicles

Transportation Safety

Earthquake Preparedness

Wildland Fire Safety

Fireworks Safety and Prohibition

Vacation Safety

Recreational Safety

Back to School Safety

Exit Drills in the Home

Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery

Halloween Safety

Cooking & Heating Safety

Holiday & Winter Safety

Transportation Safety

Child Safety Restraints

As of January 1, 2002, a new California law has passed requiring that "Children must be secured in an appropriate child passenger restraint (safety seat or booster seat) until they are at least 6 years old or weigh at least 60 pounds" . This exceeds the age/weight requirement that was required in 2001. You can get more information on child safety concepts from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Air Bags

Air bags are designed to work best when all occupants in the vehicle are properly secured. Children under 12 years of age should only ride in rear passenger seats, never the front seat. Also, infants in rear facing child safety seats should never ride in the front seat, since the activation of the passenger side air bag can violently shove the child seat into the back portion of the front seat. Adults should be properly fastened with seat belts across both the waist and shoulder.

Yield to Emergency Vehicles

Each year, passenger cars and emergency vehicles collide on the roads because police, fire or ambulances responding to an emergency with their lights flashing and sirens waling are not seen or heard. This not only creates another emergency incident, it delays the emergency response to the original emergency call.

However, following these safety tips will ensure that everyone can get to their destination safely!

• Keep the noise level in your vehicle down so you can hear a siren. If you hear one, look around for one or more emergency vehicles that may be heading your way.
• Yield to the right hand side of the road. Use your signals when moving over to the shoulder or farthest right lane of the road.
• Be careful when pulling back out onto the road.
• At intersections, be aware of pedestrians that may be in your path. They will also be looking out for the emergency vehicle and may not see you approaching.
• On the highways, always use your signal to let other drivers know you are pulling over. Use your brakes gently on any gravel surface or shoulder of the road.
• Do not try to outrun the emergency vehicle. They will always catch up to you.

Keep these safety tips in mind when you are on the road and you hear an emergency vehicle's siren or see their flashing lights. It is important to move out of their way, quickly and safely because, in the future, it may be you calling for help.