Summer holidays are over. Children obliged to return to school benches are required by the school. It also brings daily travel to school and back home. First of all, it is not a good idea for primary school pupils to rely on their ability to manage their journey to school without difficulty. On the contrary. The ability of children to move safely in road traffic is often overestimated. Especially the behavior of children under the age of 11 may be unpredictable. They think and act differently than we adults. "It is therefore good not only for newly-educated schoolchildren to go through or go from home to school and back. During the day and the route they know, they need adult supervision for up to 7 years. Secure learning to move independently on busy streets will manage at the age of 12. Children are really not a minority of adults. Primarily primary school pupils are unreliable with regard to traffic safety, " says Roman Budsky of the Road Safety Team.
Child as a pedestrian
The way for adults is not the best option. The child may be in danger of passing through busy streets in places where there are no pedestrian crossings or pedestrian traffic is not controlled by traffic lights. A small schoolboy may encounter complications that the adult does not perceive. Prior to the beginning of the school year, it will not hurt him repeatedly to go through the whole route. Explain to him in detail how to go and where to go. "The child must have room to ask himself on a continuous basis. With his questions accompanying his parents, he indicates that something is unclear to him, or that he sees a big problem in something. Everything needs to be seen with children's eyes. What an adult sees is often hidden in a small schoolboy. And conversely. The instruction must be as clear as possible, " says Roman Budsky.
Schoolchildren should use pedestrian crossings when crossing the bumper roads. However, it must be thoroughly explained to them that the zebra is a friend, but that they can not enter without a careful look. Unlike an adult who analyzes the situation as he approaches the transition, he decides only when he stops at the transition. He often considers things to be irrelevant as key. The color of the car is more attractive than its speed or distance. Reality can be totally unrealistic or distorted, the situation can be considered a game that can be changed immediately by their wishes. A child sees the zebra as a safe passage and enters without worry, even though the car is approaching at great speed. The child is convinced that the driver stops. It is a zebra ... The school should only enter the road when all the vehicles have stopped. But watch out for the trams, you never stop, because they take precedence . Small schoolchildren must be clearly visible to the driver. Colorful clothing definitely makes the child visible on the road. After all, children are fond of color, so why not use it.
Caution must be the drivers
After long summer holidays, the growing schoolchildren have been chopping up the busy city traffic. It is important to keep in mind that first-class pupils, in particular, have a range of transport situations evaluated differently than adults. If the driver sees the child near the road, he often assesses and evaluates the possible development of the situation from the point of view of the adult. He can analyze multiple factors at once, and he also manages abstract thinking. By contrast, young children - at least under 8 years of age - have poorly estimated the distance and speed of approaching vehicles. They also often explain the eye-to-eye contact with the driver. For an adult behind the wheel, this can be a confirmation that the pedestrian sees he is aware of the speed of his vehicle and of the short distance between them and therefore does not enter the road. However, the child may see the opposite as a confirmation that he or she is registered with the driver and can safely go into the crossing of the road.
Take to school by bus or tram
Many children will go to school by bus or tram. This is not without risk. It does not hurt the children to go to school. Repeatedly. Carefully explain how to get on safely, how to behave during transportation and how to perform. And also that they are small, easily overlooked for the driver . They need to avoid crossing just in front of the bus or tram, and go out onto the road after their departure from the stop.
Parents model for the smallest
Traffic education has been an integral part of the school curriculum for the fifth year. For children, however, they are the main model of how to behave on the road, their parents. Children are constantly learning and perceiving not only consciously but also subconsciously, meaning that they adopt behavior without paying attention. And it's not just about driving a motor vehicle. If parents with children switch to red, they do not use a car or hold a phone in their hands and ride a bicycle without a helmet, they can not expect their kids to take the traffic rules seriously. "However, small children are not able to assess the extent of the risk they are exposed to in violation of road traffic regulations. A negative pattern can thus become a tragedy that traces the lives of many people, " concludes Roman Budsky.
Source: tz, Road Safety Team
edited editorial