Street and Pedestrian Safety
What is street and pedestrian safety?
Safety when walking around a busy street with cars, bikes or public transportation.
What are coping strategies?
Coping strategies are behaviors that aim to avoid stress or unpleasant emotions. They vary from person to person.
What is self advocacy?
Sharing with others, what you need in order to be successful.
What are some local types of transportation that you have seen or used?
Rochester Transit System (RTS)
Uber
Lyft
Cars
Lyftline
Rochester Regional Airport (planes)
Biking
What are social skills?
Social skills are the skills we use to communicate and interact with each other, both verbally and non-verbally, through gestures, body language and our personal appearance.
What are some safety tips when navigating a public, outdoor space?
For example: Highland Park or the Lilac Festival
Prepare a safe walking route in advance.
Use sidewalks if they are available.
Walk facing the traffic if a sidewalk isn't available.
Obey all signs and signals.
Only cross streets at designated areas.
Stay on well-lit paths at night.
What is self advocacy?
Sharing with others, what you need in order to be successful.
True or False: Self advocacy is respectfully speaking up for yourself, to share what you need in order to be successful.
True!
True or False: You can sign up online for RTS Access or download the app
True: The application for RTS Access is online for your use.
True or false: We can communicate through non-verbal means?
True! Smiling, laughing and facial expressions
What are some safety tips when traveling?
For example: Visiting a new city
Check your travel schedule ahead of time, have your technology charged, plan ahead of time. Ask for help if needed.
How are coping strategies and self advocacy related?
One of the best coping skills is to become our own advocates as we take an active part in helping others learn how to best communicate with us. Communicating to others what is best needed for us to be successful.
You are with your friends and they want to go and see a particular movie that you don’t want to see. What do you do?
You:
Go and see the movie that your friends want to see, but are unhappy for the length of the movie.
Respectfully ask your friends if they would be alright with looking at other movie options for today. We could see the original movie next time! (Compromise)
Yell at your friends and walk away angrily.
No right or wrong as long as you are respectful.
True or False: RTS Access is available all throughout Monroe County.
True!
What are some examples of unexpected social situations that may arise?
Someone sitting too close to you on the bus, witnessing an argument in public, someone asking for money on the street.
How can you be safe when walking in a public setting? For example, a park or mall?
Map out routes, stay alert, stay on well-lit sidewalks
What are some examples of coping strategies that work for you?
No wrong answer! Taking deep breaths, going for a walk, getting a drink of water, listening to music
You are at the pharmacy picking up a prescription. You are unclear on the directions given to you regarding taking the medication.
You: (May be more than one correct answer!)
Respectfully ask the pharmacist to go over the directions for taking the prescription one more time. Asking them to write down any directions if that is helpful.
Leave the pharmacy without having any answers to your questions.
Call the pharmacy at a later time to respectfully ask the pharmacist to go over the directions one more time.
Make sure to ask for what you need whether that is directions repeated, directions written down or a phone call later on.
State some ways to be safe when using public transportation.
Prepare for your trip. Know your route and be aware of the pick up and drop off times
Travel light
Staying seated
Staying awake and alert
If you see something, say something
Ask the driver if you have any questions or concerns at all.
What would you do if: Another participant says something during class that you don’t agree with.
Respectfully share your thoughts, use coping strategies: walk away, change seats, take a walk, grab some headphones
Can you share an example of when you utilized street and pedestrian safety out in the community?
Any response is right!
What are the steps to problem solving?
Is there a problem?
What is the problem?
Brainstorm possible solutions to the problem
Evaluate the possible solutions and choose the best option
Try out the solution
True or False: Self advocacy also includes problem solving and asking for appropriate information?
True! It may be challenging at times, but it is important to take risks and problem solve in order to make sure you are comfortable.
Share an experience about a time that you used a form of transportation? What did you use any how was it?
Any response is correct!
What would you do if an unexpected situation occurred in public? How would you handle it?
Any answer is right. It may depend on the situation and how you are feeling at the time.
Think through situations, keep in mind your social goals
Be aware of the power of social observation
Social situations- consider, where we are, who are the people, what is happening at the time
How do behaviors that are expected in a situation make others feel?
How do behaviors that are unexpected in a situation make others feel?