On June 5, 1947, just one week before school closed for the summer, the Minneapolis Police Department launched a campaign to promote better traffic safety for children.
The total deaths for children from traffic accidents while playing numbered 6 in 1945 and 4 in 1946. By June of 1947, before school had even let out, 5 children had been killed and 300 had been injured from traffic accidents while playing.
The Traffic Bureau believed that many of these deaths and injuries could have been prevented if children were taught to watch for traffic. They cited the top reasons for child traffic deaths and injuries as follows:
- Darting into streets without stopping to look both ways
- Playing ballgames, hopscotch, or tag in the streets
- Riding two children to a bike and not paying attention to the road
Source: Minneapolis Morning Tribune of June 5, 1947
Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library