If your child starts school in 2022, there is a lot more than usual that they will have to learn about taking care of themselves.
Not only must they learn about social distancing and sanitising, but they need to understand road safety too.
Road safety is best taught in a practical setting and children mimic the behaviour of their parents and caregivers. So chatting with them as you spend time in the car, close to roads or near traffic is a great way to teach and reinforce road safety habits.
Children have different levels of awareness at different ages. Adults play a vital role in assessing their readiness at each stage of their development in preparing them to become independent travellers.
It really boils down to two key responsibilities: to reinforce road safety learning, and to set a good example.
RAF Buddy would like children to be safe and avoid injury on the road.
Following a few simple rules can keep your little ones out of harm’s way:
Toddlers:
The easiest way to keep your toddler clear of any potential hazards, as well as teaching them as you navigate the roads, is to have them hold your hand.
It is amazing how many adults do not do this. Toddlers can unpredictably run in any direction, quickly placing them in danger.
The simple habit of hand-holding can be a lifesaver.
While you are walking with them, you can show them zebra and pedestrian crossings and even make pressing the button and waiting for the green light into a game.
Making sure that they have reflective strips on their clothing and bags, as well as wearing bright clothing will help motorists see them easier.
Children 5-11:
Children in this age group still have difficulty in assessing the speed of vehicles or predicting when and where cars will move. It is therefore vital to never let a child go near a road alone, even if they are with an older child.
If you are walking in a parking lot or near traffic, remind your child to stay close to you. If your hands are full, ask them to hold onto your shopping bag or trolley.
It is also especially important to teach them about driveway safety. Sadly, many youngsters are killed or injured in driveways. The most common cause has been as a result of reversing cars.
You should also be very strict with regards to children touching the hand brake, as the accidental release of hand brakes has led to many unnecessary damages.
Young ones may get excited to greet a visitor or maybe play games in the driveway. Taking the time to educate them about the hazards and keeping a vigilant eye on activities in the driveway can prevent accidents.
When walking along the pavement, always face oncoming traffic and stay furthest away from dangerous areas such as roadworks or congestion. It is a subtle art to predict driver behaviour and commenting on drivers that you observe as you walk can lay the foundations of being aware of road users and their behaviour. You can test your child’s knowledge of road signs and motor vehicle light signals, too.
You will inevitably need to cross the road. This is a perfect time to reinforce the mantra “look left, look right and look left again” and to teach them to treat middle islands as separate crossings.
It is a great opportunity to point out other users of the roads, such as cyclists and motorcyclists. Because buses and taxis are common around school grounds, showing your child how to behave around these can be particularly important.
They should be made aware that they should never walk in front of a stationary bus or taxi, as it could be concealing oncoming traffic. If they wait for the bus to leave, they will have a clear view of the road in both directions.
If you drop your child outside school, consider if it is the safest spot to do so. Sometimes parking a little further away from the congestion closest to the entrance might be a better option.
Some children walk or cycle to school. If you take the initial journey with them, you can point out potential hazards and entrances that may be concealed by hedges or walls.
RAF Buddy:
Please note: No matter how vigilant you are, accidents do happen and pedestrians are very often at the receiving end of such and unfortunate occurrence.
Any injury sustained, especially by a child, is one to many and it is RAF Buddy’s conviction to help reduce road crashes and by providing practical tips create more awareness around road safety.
However, should you or a loved one be the victim of a car crash, please keep in mind that the RAF was created to provide the widest possible cover for those victims who qualify, including children.
In the unfortunate event of any injury, lodging a claim needs to be considered and RAF Buddy will help you make the right choice.
RAF Buddy is a user-friendly online platform that has been created to assist anyone who has been injured on South African roads and to help navigate the Road Accident Fund’s claim system.
