GREEN, Ohio — This Memorial Day, experts are stressing the need for a safety plan as dozens of community parades take place.
Bryan Huneycutt, an event safety consultant with the Event Safety Alliance, said there are national parade safety standards approved by the American National Standards Institute that officials can follow.
Those standards encourage vehicle and trailer inspections, as well as inspection of connection points between vehicles and the floats they tow. Huneycutt said drivers should know where they will turn along the route.
Huneycutt also said organizers should be mindful of where participants are, keeping them from the edges of the trailer where they could fall off.
He also said kids should be closely watched, whether they are in the parade or along the route.
Kids should know where they are going and know not to get too close to vehicles.
For spectators, Huneycutt said, when you find your spot on the route, stay there and make a plan of where to meet if your group is separated.
He also said to stay hydrated, as it can take some time for all of the floats and marching bands to pass by.
Huneycutt said taking safety precautions could prevent tragedies from happening on days meant to celebrate the community.
The City of Green is one community that still thinks about the loss of a young person's life during a parade. Last year, 13-year-old Matthew Schultz was riding on a float in the city's Memorial Day parade.
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According to the Summit County Sheriff's Office, the boy fell off the float and was run over by a trailer at the end of the route. Schultz was transported to Akron Children's Hospital, where he later died.
Huneycutt said that given the different sizes of events, it's hard to find specific numbers on how many similar incidents have occurred.
Again, he stressed how having a plan and taking precautions could save lives.
"We're protecting the people who make the traditions meaningful," Huneycutt said. "These events exist to honor that service, and we want to make sure we are protecting the community. We're protecting all of those folks around, and that the memories are what people take away. A parade and these experiences should be about creating memories, not creating emergencies."
The City of Green's parade kicks off at 10 a.m.
The parade will be followed by a noon ceremony honoring fallen heroes and veterans.
