Road Safety for Kids

Road safety forms a basic part of everyday life, the most essentially for children. Teaching kids some safety on the road will help them traverse walking through the streets and traffic. For those walking to school, riding a bike, or crossing the street, knowing and adhering to the road safety rules for kids will prevent accidents and save lives. This blog will touch on the significance of road safety, lay down the main rules of road safety to the students, and proffer useful tips on ensuring that the parents see their children well prepared for the road.

The Importance of Road Safety for Kids 

Children are naturally curious and most times innocent of the dangers posed by roads and the traffic. However, children cannot be expected to understand the road risks involved—if no one tells them the rules regarding crossing roads, playing next to them, or riding bicycles in traffic. These make an argument that sets of rules be put together to apply road safety for kids when traveling for foot, bicycle, or vehicle safety. We can avoid such accidents and help our children grow with a sense of responsibility and awareness if from the very beginning we inculcate these habits in them. Road safety is the term for preventing road accidents by obeying road safety rules and regulations

What are the Road Safety Rules for Kids?

Some very simple guidelines for road safety rules are designed for kids to move safely in traffic. The ease to follow general understanding of very simple easy reminders allows the applying student to apply in different situations. Some of the major road safety rules for students include the following: 

• Look Both Ways before Crossing the Street

One of the simplest and most basic road safety rules for kids is that they should always look both ways before they cross the street. By this, consider first looking on the left side, then the right, and finally the left side again to ascertain whether there are no cars coming. Even if the road appears clear, one has to keep checking and listening as they cross.

• Prioritize Crosswalks and Pedestrian Signals

Children should be walking or running when crossing streets at crosswalks or pedestrian de-marked locations. Pedestrian crossings have been painted as safe points for pedestrians to cross streets, roads, or highways. Use the crosswalk and ensure that the pedestrian signal is green before crossing, and ensure all vehicles stop.

• Walk, Don’t Run

Kids will often enjoy running, sometimes because they are simply full of energy, while other times they are in a rush for something. Running may give more reason for accidents, due to tripping or a problem with being noticed in time by drivers. Children should be reminded to walk calmly and steadily when crossing roads.

• Stay on Sidewalks

Kids should be encouraged to always, whenever possible, walk on the sidewalk rather than the road. A sidewalk keeps them away from traffic, hence reducing the risk of getting hit by a car. If there's no sidewalk, they should know how to walk facing that traffic, on as much roadside as they can.

• Be Visible

It is important that children are clearly visible to drivers even during poor light, such as during the early morning or evening hours. Brightly coloured clothes or reflective gear will make them more visible. Children who are riding bicycles should use lights and reflectors on their bicycles.

 

10 Road Safety Rules on the Road for Children

 

Here are ten essential safety rules on the road for students that every child should know:

• Always Wear a Helmet When Bike Riding

A helmet is very necessary to wear to protect a child's safety while bike riding. Most especially, a properly fitting helmet is placed under your child's head when doing bike riding in order to prevent accidents, mostly from falling.

• Follow Road Instructions and Signals

Ensure children understand at least the most common traffic signals and signs, such as stopping, the color signal used in traffic lights, and pedestrian  crossing signs. They should know what each signal is directing them to do and then know what to do when they are told to stop, go, or continue with caution.

• Minimize Distractions

Kids must be made to understand that no distractions, such as playing with their phones, are allowed while crossing the street or walking beside any roads. They need to keep their attention on the road and moving vehicles.

• Don't Play Near Roads

Playing near the roads is dangerous, as children can easily wander over to the roads without realizing it. Kids should be encouraged to play in parks or playgrounds, away from the dangers of passing vehicles.

• Know the Safe Routes to School

Parents should help their children identify the safest routes to school. A route should have the following: crosswalks, sidewalks, and a minimum of traffic. A few walks together along the route also serve to further teach safe practices.

• Hand Signals for Bicyclists

They also should make hand signals to indicate to the drivers where they are going. For example, when the left arm is straight out, it means a left turn, and for a right turn, the left arm raises on a 90-degree angle.

• Obey Crossing Guards

Crossing guards help children cross streets safely. Children should always obey the signals given by the crossing guards and understand that wherever the child is crossing, they have to wait until the guard has given them a signal to cross.

• Never Cross Between Parked Cars

Crossing the street through parked cars makes it a dangerous one, as this reduces visibility for the child, and the same goes for coming drivers. So the child needs to be taught to cross at open spaces where they can see and be seen clearly.

• Allow the Bus to Fully Stop

Children should allow the school bus to wholly stop and open the doors before heading to them. They should also pay attention to the "danger zone," the area that surrounds a school bus driver which they cannot see.

• Pay Attention at School Locations

The speed limit is generally lower around school areas, and people often traverse within this vicinity; thus, children should exercise extra caution and use the sidewalk whenever available, crossing only at street corners.

 

Road Safety for Kids: Tips for Parents

Being a parent, an essential reminder is by maintaining the safe road usage of the children from time to time. It's important to lead by example and help a child to learn some of the safety tips to apply while one is out. Here are some handy tips for every parent.

• Conduct Safety Drills

Practice safety road drills with children regularly. This includes walking them through the safest routes to and from school and demonstrating how to cross a street or use pedestrian signals.

• Lead by Example

Children learn through observation. If you always follow the road safety rules—crossing roads through safe areas, putting on helmets, and obeying traffic signals—you will have set a good example for the children.

• Importance of Road Safety

Take some time and try to explain why road safety is so important. Also, explain that adherence to the road rules equates to zero accidents. Explain these things in a language that they can relate to.

• Educational Resources

There are numerous educational resources that would be very helpful in forwarding the lessons on road safety. There are books, video clippings, and even interactive games through which the messages could be reinforced, which have been taken subjectively at home.

• Encourage Open Communication

Maintain open communication lines where children are free to seek clarification about safety on the roads when in doubt. It's important they fully understand so they will be more confident about following the rules.

Important facts to look at as per Safe Kids Worldwide in their published data on Global Road Safety Facts for Children  

• More than 500 children are killed every day as a result of road traffic collisions, and tens of thousands are injured, often suffering lifelong disabilities.
• By 2030, road traffic injuries among both children and adults are projected to surpass HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis as a cause of death worldwide.

Conclusion: Empower Kids with Road Safety Knowledge

Teaching of the rules of road safety to a child is important so that subsequently, with the given knowledge, he can move along the streets and safely overcome the traffic riddle. It instills a sense of responsibility in them and consequently proves to be awareness-instilling for a lifetime. Whether that learning is to look both ways before crossing the street, wearing a helmet when biking, or knowing traffic signals, those lessons will add up to a safer environment for everyone.

Parents play a major role in reinforcing the same through practice of road safety drills, being a good example and encouraging open communication to their children. Together, we can make our kids prepared and safe on the road while they walk, bike, or ride to school.

Following these road safety rules for kids, we will help avert the incidents and protect our children, our most valuable resource.

 

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